Echo of Noise
by Blaxis
Summary: Modern AU. They went to the Campbell manor when receiving an invitation for a party. However, the family and the secrets that dwelled the manor were far from being merry, and that, they had to learn it the hard way.
1. First Secret - Invitation for Death

**Disclamer: D. Gray-Man belongs to Katsura Hoshino. This is a work of fanfiction, not for profit.**

 **Theme song: Hakan Tuncbilek - Yuzun Gunese Baksa (this is the main theme of the fiction, it was inspired from it, so i highly recommend you to listen to it while reading.)**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 **First Secret**

The rain was pouring outside like strings from the sky; harshly endless.

Raindrops fell as if they were bouncing on asphalt. Echoes resonated with every merciless splash; the morning was still at its finest, but one could easily think of it as a dying day.

The curtains were closed, making the room even somber, but that did not prevent the sleeping redhead from waking up. The melody of the rain was far too noisy to let him sleep at ease.

He moaned as he stretched his limbs a little; Lavi adjusted himself in a more comfortable position, making the blankets shift around him. The young man was drunk with sleepiness, but the rain irritated him and did not let him finish his beautiful sleep.

Lavi hated rainy days.

It had been more than ten years that Lavi and his grandfather moved to the city of the eternal clouded sky, yet Lavi could still not get accustomed to the weather of London. He vividly remembered the first time they had moved in this house, how fresh the capital city seemed to him, how happy he was. But as soon as winter declared its beginning, the rain never ceased.

The weather was nothing like the previous countries'; this one was peculiarly irritating, saddening, devouring, and ruthlessly beautiful.

At some point of his life, Lavi had wanted to get away from this place and start a new life in a sunny and joyful place, but his emotional attachment to the house and the city was too tight to be easily let go of.

It was yet, another day of pure laziness which Lavi was going to waste. The redhead was about to close his eyes and get lulled by the melodic pitter patter of the rain when his phone started to buzz on the wooden nightstand.

The redhead groaned, opening his eyes slowly he turned to the other side watching with a passive figure the vibrating phone and after few blinks Lavi decided to let it be; it was probably not an urgent call, he will call back whoever just called later in the afternoon when he would wake up. However, the phone resumed vibrating again and again, and Lavi's eyebrows furrowed. He cursed under his breath and reached for the phone, then lied on his back, answering the call without checking who was calling.

Lavi let out a tired hum and the person on other line cried out, _"Lavi, why didn't you pick up earlier?"_ making him automatically take it away from his ear to lower the sound volume.

"I am sleeping, Lenalee" he grunted with a low voice, "and could you lower your voice? You deafened me."

 _"_ _Sleeping at this time? It's already eleven in the morning, for God's sake!"_

"My sleeping time doesn't have limits."

 _"_ _That has no sense at all, Lavi you know that–"_ but the redhead cut her off before she could finish her sentence, he wasn't in the mood to hear her nagging, "Is there something you need or can I hung up?"

 _"_ _Lavi,"_ said Lenalee sighed, _"Get out of that bed, will you? I am going to have lunch with Kanda in about an hour and I want you to join us."_

The half-sleeping young man scratched his right eyebrow; honestly, he had no desire to be out today, or tomorrow, or even the day after that…

He closed his eyes, and spoke only when his friend called out to him again, "Lenalee, you know that I am in no mood for that."

Lenalee was silent for a moment before saying, _"I know, but you shouldn't isolate yourself like this. We're your friends and we want to help you."_

Somehow, what she had just said irritated him and Lavi hated that feeling. He hated himself for being annoyed with his friend who wanted nothing but help him. Despite that, his current emotional state allowed him nothing but a foul mood and heartache.

"We've talked about this hundreds of times already, and my mind won't change," he said trying to control his tone –hurting Lenalee was the last thing he wanted–, and prepared to hung up, "Have a nice afternoon, I'm going back to sleep."

Lenalee being Lenalee used her last card, which was always a wicked one.

 _"_ _If you don't come I will tell Komui that you sexually assaulted me."_ She said, her voice wavering not even once. And Lavi knew her well enough to know that she wasn't joking –even though that lie could possibly be the reason he would be found dead in a dark alley one day.

His eyes went wide open, "Yes, Lena-lady!" the redhead found himself saying, and his friend on the other line hung up after a joyful talk.

The sound of the line being cut echoed in Lavi's head, and he groaned irritatingly, throwing off the sheets off him –his entire body reacted to the hasted shift of temperature. He stayed in that position for a while, thoughts whirling in his head, then proceeded in putting down the phone and sat, running a tired hand through his reddish hair. He regretted instantly his decision of joining them, yet Lenalee made it apparent that he had no choice.

Lavi moaned; wearing his slippers, he stood and walked in the direction of the bathroom. After exiting the toilet he boldly took off his clothes and threw them on the floor, not minding putting them in the clothes' bin and entered the shower.

The perfect tempered water fell on him, cleansing everything, his hair, his skin, and his sins. Lavi simply stood there without moving, too much enveloped in his own thoughts; it was until the droplets turned into sharp little blades of fire and burned his skin that he noticed that he was taking too long. He hurriedly showered and exited it to brush his teeth. He erased the fog off the glass and looked at his body with a bored eye, then ran a hesitant hand over his right eyes –his scarred right eye.

It had already been about fifteen years since he got that scar, and despite not remembering much of the incident, the small thoughts of it were enough to get him nauseous and anxious.

Lavi brushed his hair violently with both hands and let out a muffled groan. _'What the heck am I thinking about?'_ and hastily wore the bathrobe to leave the bathroom, without giving a last glance to his figure on the last standing glass in the house.

Getting ready was something Lavi hated a lot. He never quite understood the need of being classy and trendy, like Lenalee says. Most of his clothes were chosen by her, and Lavi still ignored why he let her buy clothes for him in first place.

He chuckled; Lavi did know why, but tackling that subject was still impossible.

After going through his entire wardrobe to find a fitting outfit, Lavi felt like a woman. After all, only women had plenty of clothes while complaining of having nothing to wear. The redheaded young man, after wearing plain black clothes, put the umbrella in his bag pack and went down.

On his ways out, the redhead stopped by the frame picture of his grandfather which was hung on the wall of the living room.

It was almost six months now that his grandfather passed away, but it felt like it was yesterday.

The endless hours of crying in his darkened room, alone, remembering the long nights spent together reading books in his study room, the chimney lighted which sent heated vibrations to calm the storms inside and outside of their hearts. Knowing that there would be no longer bickering over the smallest things in that gigantic house, that there would be no echoing voices and laughs from a room to another after nightfall, that there would be no one waiting for him when he got back from a long day of work.

Knowing that he had no family left, Lavi's heart shattered into millions of tiny little pieces, creating wounds which could never be healed.

People expressed their condolences, whispering promises. Saying that it was okay, saying that it will be okay, that they knew how he felt and how hard it was to deal with. They said that they will always be by his side, that they were one phone call away, but all disappeared when the first time the sun sat without his grandfather beside him.

It was until then that Lavi had understood how hypocrite the lies and fake smiles he always offered to people were, and that made him hate himself even more.

Lavi walked out of the house to stop by the mailbox, like he always does. He took out his set of keys and hastily searched for the right one, he then proceeded in opening the red box only to find one outstanding envelope. The redhead raised a brow and took possession of the item to study it closely. It was a simple golden envelope with nothing written on it; the only thing present on it was the red eye-catching seal. His sole green eyes narrowed trying to figure out whose crest it was, as he was sure that it was not foreign and that he had seen it before.

However, before he could open the envelope his phone rang; it was Lenalee, again. Lavi jolted by the single thought of how angry his green haired friend might be right now, so he rapidly tucked it in his backpack and ushered out of the residence.

"Yes Lena-lady?"

 _"_ _So, where are you now?"_ She asked. To Lavi her voice was melodic and sweet despite the fuss in the background; her voice had the strange power to calm down his demons.

The redhead did not have a hard time closing the gate, hiding his keys and adjusting his backpack with only one hand as the other held the phone. It was one of the many things he learned while working as a lawyer; he had to phone many clients, take care of many papers and eating at the same time.

You see, Lavi was not very fond of headphones, Bluetooth headsets and letting assistants manage his important matters. "I just got out of the house, where're we meeting?"

 _"_ _Great! So you will find us at the regular restaurant, Kanda is already there waiting and I'm on my way. Don't take long."_

"Roger that green leader," he chuckled, "See you in about half an hour."

 _"_ _See you!"_

Lenalee and Kanda were probably the only people Lavi could be honest with; those two have been his friends since high school. Though they later enrolled in different universities, they stayed in touch and frequently hung out together.

Lenalee was the sweetest person you could ever come across, and Kanda… well Kanda was your regular asshole.

Lavi first met with the Japanese man through a hard punch, which left a mark on his face for several weeks. It was pure coincidence that the redhead stumbled on a grumpy Kanda on the first day of highschool; a middle-aged and messy-haired man, who reeked of the damp smell of oil paint, came to him later that day to provide apologies for his son's violent and not-intended act. Kanda stood next to the man with a frowning face and crossed arms; the raven haired teenager had said that the punch was intended for someone else, and had expressed his apologies to Lavi with difficulty, and Lavi found that very amusing.

The very next day, Lavi discovered that Kanda happened to be his classmate –an antisocial classmate. Despite threatening the redhead with a Japanese sword, Lavi kept on bothering Kanda, saying that he was an interesting person. Lenalee broke into his life right after that, as she was the childhood –and only– friend of the samurai wannabe teenager.

Lavi bounded very well with the two teenagers and they easily became friends despite their many differences; even Kanda became comfortable with Lavi's presence.

The three youngsters spent unforgettable highschool days, and when Lavi thought that he would lose touch with his two bestfriends, they proved him wrong as their friendship became stronger than ever after choosing different majors and schools.

Today Kanda was a promising architect. He had been working in the firm of Komui Lee, Lenalee's older brother, for a couple of years now and had confessed to Lavi few months ago that he was intending to leave it to start his own business. The raven haired Japanese man did not change much; he was still the prick he used to be, heck, even his hair style was the same! In Lavi's opinion, Kanda was too much of a traditionalist, not that the redhead could ever say it out loud.

On the other hand, Lenalee was an interior designer who managed her own work and opened a small office, but that did not stop her from working with her brother from time to time on some projects. One could say that the job was perfect for her; Lenalee was a fashionista after all!

The late Bookman had co-founded a law firm with his longtime friend Klaud Nine, and a few years back when he retired, Lavi took his place. Lavi was not brought up to be a good professional lawyer who had to take over his grandfather's business as most people thought, on the very contrary, his grandfather had always supported him on following his heart and choosing whatever he pleased because it was his own life, not another one's. And it was exactly what the redhead did. Becoming a lawyer had been his goal, and he succeeded.

Yet, after the death of his grandfather, Lavi lost all taste for life, and so he dropped his work. Nine was a nice and comprehensive person; she had provided him an unlimited break to properly mourn his loss without imposing a salary cut. And so, for more than six months now, Lavi had been doing nothing but staying home and slacking around.

Arriving to his destination, Lavi opened the door and instantly the sweet smell of delicious food tickled his frozen nostrils. Jerry's restaurant has been the place the trio frequented since their highschool days.

There were three reasons why they never changed the place, first: because Jerry's food was the best, second: because it was not very far from their houses, and lastly because it was the only near restaurant which had Soba in its menu –Kanda's favorite food.

The waiters and waitresses welcomed their regular customer with wide smiles and glittering eyes; the redhead was appreciated by everyone in the place because of his cheerful personality, even if his late moods had been nothing but morose ornamented with tired and forced smiles.

Tilting his head to the side, he saw Lenalee waving at him from the table they usually sat by, smiling.

"Glad you made it!" the green haired young woman said when Lavi made it to the table.

God, that girl was a fucking saving grace.

"Hey fellas!" Lavi grinned, and Kanda growled, "It was about time, you took too damn long!"

"Kanda!" Lenalee said with a grave tone, giving him a mother's stern look, "What was I telling you just now."

The raven haired man clicked his tongue and Lavi chuckled; Lenalee was really a mother hen.

He had missed the feeling of being at ease, forgetting about his pain and simply laughing everything out with his closest friends.

Lavi asked his friends how they were doing with their work, but Lenalee easily changed the subject and said that talking about work was the last thing she wanted right now. So their conversation continued on, speaking about different topics; while the two of them spoke in a cheerful manner, Kanda sat indifferently in his seat with his arms folded on his chest. His eyes were closed; however, if one thought that he was not interested in their chitchat, then they were dead wrong. Lavi and Lenalee knew Kanda too well, and they were certain that he was closely listening to their talk without having to join them in.

When the waiter finally came to take their order, Lenalee excused herself to the restroom and it was until then that Kanda strained a little on the table to finally speak.

"It took you long to get out of there; I still can't believe Lena managed to convince you," The Japanese man said after Lenalee was out of sight, afraid to be heard. "So, how did she do it?"

The colors drained out of Lavi's face, and he gulped, "This is Lenalee we are talking about, and you know her better than me, do you… really want to know?"

"On a second thought, no thanks, I'd really appreciate sleeping tonight without having nightmares." Kanda retreated having understood everything from his friend's face.

"I'm back!" Lenalee said, and both man tensed a little, "So what were you guys talking about?"

Kanda coughed and Lavi stuttered, "You know, stuff…" She raised an eyebrow, and he continued, "Like the weather…"

"Men are really weird creatures." She muttered shaking her head lightly while taking a seat. Her peppery facial features changed soon after noticing their food arriving.

Food was the only thing that could ease up a depressed, angry or tired Lenalee.

When the plates were served to their respective owner, the heated resumed once again.

"…Honestly, that pizza man was the worst! From that time on I decided to stop order my pizza from there, the icing on the cake is that it was not even edible!" Lenalee whined taking a bite from her pizza, "There's no better food than Jerry's!" Kanda let out a small hum in confirmation to Lena's statement as he calmly ate his beloved Soba.

"Oh, I just remembered," Lavi said, putting down his fork to turn around and tug his hands in his backpack, "I received a weird envelope this morning, wanted to open it, but didn't have time."

"A letter? Like in the Chain Letter?" Lenalee said, eyes shining with curiosity.

A cold shiver ran down his spine, "Well, I hope it isn't." Lavi never quite understood Lenalee's fondness of horror and terror, in both movies and real life.

Back in high school Lenalee was the naughty teen of the trio who always wanted to go investigate weird shady places at night. Her obsession went as far as creating a club in high school, which she had named, _'LenKanLav, paranormal investigations'._ The green haired goddess had once asked, more correctly, _forced_ them to join her in a night expedition throughout an abandoned building in their school, which was rumored to be haunted. The building was soon to be demolished by the school as it was in ruins and Lenalee said it was then or never; their little investigation led to the discovery of a room which walls were covered with pictures of high school girls, there was even the picture of Lenalee! But unfortunately, that was not where it stopped, going deeper in their investigation, the trio had found the remnants of human bones and when they tried to get in touch with the police they found the culprit standing behind them. And a fight ensued.

Of course, none of them came out of it unscathed; Lavi ended with a broken leg, Lenalee with many cuts all over her body and a sprained wrist, and finally, Kanda with a deep wound in the chest after fighting with the psychopath who happened to be a chemistry teacher in their school.

Thank the lords Kanda had decided to take his sword, Mugen, with him –Lavi had never loved Mugen as much as that day.

The trio became famous in town, and even more famous than before on the school grounds. Simultaneously, on the other side of the coin, it was the main reason the adults responsible of them restricted their outings until they enrolled in university. However, being the troublemakers they were, it did not put a limit to their foolishness.

They used to be young, naïve and full of life, whereas now, Lavi felt that they had terribly aged.

He put the envelope in the middle of the table, and the trio stared at it pensively.

Lenalee tilted her head a little, never getting her eyes off the object of interest, "I've seen this crest before, but I don't remember where." She said, putting her index at the extremity of her lips. Lavi looked up at her and nodded, uneasiness building in his stomach. He knew it, that crest was familiar.

Suddenly Kanda growled, "Hurry up and open it imbecile. And if it's a letter, read it out loud."

Lenalee chuckled, "Even Kanda is agog, who would've thought."

Taking a deep breath, Lavi broke the seal and the envelope revealed a golden paper; it was an invitation.

 _'_ _Dear Mr. Bookman,_

 _The entire Noah family has the great honor to invite you to the party which will be held in honor of the Earl of the Campbell on the eighteenth day of this month in the Campbell Manor situated in Beelsby, North East Lincolnshire._

 _We would be more than happy if you accepted to join us on that memorable day._

 _Yours truly,_

 _The Campbell family._

 _Ps: following the bad weather conditions, it will be preferable if you could come a week before the event. You can bring your family or friends with you if you wish._

 _A party is similar to a flower,_

 _It lasts only few hours,_

 _But it leaves in the heart,_

 _Unforgettable sentiments.'_

The trio kept quiet for a moment, and then Lavi spoke, "Campbell? Who's that?"

"Beats me." Kanda said, resuming eating his soba.

Lenalee shrieked bringing both hands to cover her mouth, eyes glittering, "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. Oh. My. God!"

Kanda exclaimed, "What the fuck?!" a spoon of soba in his mouth.

"You've received a letter from the Campbell? And on top of that an invitation to _go_ to their manor? Oh my God, Lavi I can't believe it!" she started to clasp her hands excitedly; "You're going right? You're going! Please tell me you are!"

"Hold on a sec, Lenalee," Lavi began, trying to calm his friend, "I don't even know who they are, there's no way I am going; plus traveling to God knows where in such weather is completely out of question!"

"Lavi!" she whined.

"Who the fuck are the Campbell anyway?" Kanda meddled in while fanning for Lenalee, who seemed to be hyperventilating, using the envelope.

"I can accept Lavi's stupidity and ignorance, but you Kanda! How could you?" she opened her eyes big rounded at Kanda.

The redhead sweat dropped, "Did you just say I'm stupid…?"

She joined her hands and started, "The Campbell family, one of the oldest and wealthiest families of Britain. It is said that they used to be one of nobles who worked directly under the Kings and Queens of our country, and now, they had apparently isolated themselves from society to live in the Yorkshire where they held a peaceful life!"

"What does this have to do with anything?"

"Their manor! The Campbell manor is one hell of a place! And visiting it is the dream of every architect!"

"But I'm not an architect and neither you are." Lavi pointed out at Lenalee

"Ah _, that_ Campbell one. I'm an architect, but I'm not interested."

"Kanda!" seeing that her puppy eyes did not work, Lenalee recomposed herself and cleared her throat, "Listen Lavi, this is a once in a lifetime chance, who knows what we will come across in this adventure; you should not say 'I'm not in the mood or something', you should work your way out of this." She then slammed her hands on the table, "Let's take it and go on a wonderfully unforgettable journey!"

"Why did she talk like an old cartoon main character?"

Kanda scoffed, "beats me. Moreover, _we_? Don't tell me you want us to go with him, Lenalee."

"I'm not going anyway."

"Seriously, you guys!"

"Listen Lena," Kanda said, trying to act like the eldest of the trio, "for the first time in my life I have to, unfortunately, agree with that imbecile rabbit."

"Imbecile? Unfortunately? Why are you guys so mean today?"

Without minding Lavi, the Japanese continued his explanations, "We don't know who those are, we're in the middle of winter season, I have work to do, and so do you. And that stupid rabbit has to hibernate. There is no way we can go."

"Actually Kanda, we do know who those are, winter is not a problem and neither us working is. My brother will gladly give you a week off under my demand, and I can do what I want, plus there is no way I can let Lavi hibernate all winter."

"Try being logical for at least once; we are not going." Kanda insisted.

"Hey guy… why are you arguing over this? It's not like I'm going."

"Lavi you shut up." Lenalee said with a clear voice and Lavi jerked.

"Komui will not let you go." Kanda smirked, crossing his arms to his chest.

"He will."

"Let's say he will accept, but it doesn't change the fact that neither I nor Lavi wish to go."

Lavi sighed, "Thank you for your wisdom, Yu." Thank the lords Kanda was on his side.

"Shut your trap stupid rabbit, and if you call me by my name again I will fucking kill you."

Lavi decided to retreat in his seat and speak from a further distance in case something hit him and he accidently died.

"Listen boys, this is not a democracy. We are going. End." Lenalee declared.

"Why are you still deciding?"

"Give me one good reason to go." Kanda retorted.

"You guys know that I'm not going, right?"

Lenalee smiled, shaking her head lightly, "You shouldn't play with fire Kanda. If you don't come, I'll, for example, show the world your infinite collection, which you are weirdly proud of, of–"

Kanda's eyes went wide open, and he slammed his hands on the table, shouting, "Wait!"

"Or perhaps, the truth on what happened last Friday the 13th with Johnny–"

"You win, you win. I accept."

To think that one day the almighty Kanda will lose a fight…then again, these were the frightening powers of Lenalee.

"Yay! We're going!" she beamed, and the two men watched her with tired eyes, then Lavi pointed out.

"Hold on a sec, you guys know that I don't want to go, right?"

"Lavi," she turned, her happy face was gone and replaced by a twisted smile, "If you refuse, then I'll do what I told you this morning, and speaking of which, my brother is working on a new Komurin prototype…"

"I'll go, I'll go. We'll all go, it's that, right? The wonderfully unforgettable journey!" he let out an uneasy laugh, exchanging his pain with Kanda through stolen eye contacts.

"I have a question, though." Kanda said and Lenalee pouted at him, "What is it?"

"How come Lavi was invited while saying he did not know these people?"

"Now that you say it…"

"Oh come on, it's not like it is an invitation to be killed by a maniac! Maybe they knew his grandfather, the letter says Mr. Bookman, so they weren't exactly addressing it to Lavi." Lenalee said as a matter of fact.

"Grandpa never spoke of them."

Lavi knew most of his grandfather's acquaintances and the Campbell were never mentioned, not even once. And that brought back the question of the familiar crest on the envelope.

Lenalee shrugged, giving fast and probable explanations to the troubling question of Kanda, "Maybe they lost touch, they live in Yorkshire after all, and it's quite far from here. Gives you one more reason to go, don't you think Lavi?"

Lavi reluctantly nodded at her statement, deep in his thoughts.

"Now," Kanda said, putting down his empty plate while curiously eyeing the greenhead, "Mind telling us the reason _you_ want to go? It's not about the architecture, now, is it?"

Lenalee innocently batted her eyelids, a small smile brightening her face, "Something that will make you wish to be there as soon as possible."

However, after travelling there, meeting the Campbell and discovering what was meant to stay buried, the trio wished they had never went there.

~o*0*o~

Lavi lifted his bag and stared blankly at his room. Today he was leaving for the Campbell manor with Kanda and Lenalee.

If someone was to tell Lavi three days ago that he would be going on a week-length vacation to Yorkshire to attend a party held by the Campbell family, he would've laughed his heart out. Yet, there he was, holding his trip bag and exiting his bedroom.

He climbed down the stairs toward the hallway in a steady pace. Lenalee had called the night before to inform him that she, accompanied by Kanda, would come and fetch him in a taxi so that the three of them would be in the airport on time. Lavi had not taken much luggage with him, few casual clothes, a formal one for the party and a few needed items. He was still hesitant to this entire travelling story even if Lenalee had spent three hours on the phone with him, speaking joyfully about it.

The redhead put his bag on the floor and sat on the comfortable armchair of the living room which. Both elbows resting on the armrests, he sank in the leather furniture, peacefully closing his eyes.

He was running away, he knew that perfectly, but there was no other way; Lavi was not going for a change of air, he was running out of this place. Lavi did not have another option, and that sickened him to the core. He fumed in that lazy position, deep thoughts going round and round in his mind.

The ringing of the bell woke him up from his reverie. Lavi got up with difficulty from his place, grabbed his bag, and walked to the door, not glancing even once at the picture frame of his grandfather on the wall by the entrance.

It was the smiling face of Lenalee that he saw upon opening the door; he noticed that she had held her hair in a ponytail. Lenalee rarely did ponytails, maybe it was to attract the adventure vibes like in the movies where women always held their hair in ponytails.

She kissed and hugged him good morning, and he reluctantly did the same; they chitchatted for a while by the door, but were soon interrupted by a grumpy Kanda who was riding shotgun. Lavi held his hand as a sign of apology and the two hurried to the taxi.

"Took you too damn long, stupid rabbit!" Kanda growled as soon as the two got in the car, and Lenalee scolded, "Kanda, watch your words!"

"Sorry man." Lavi said, and Kanda clicked his tongue.

The flight was scheduled at four in the afternoon; it was Kanda who took care of everything as none of them was as tidy and punctuate as he was. Everything was prepared. Their flight was not that long; it took them less than an hour to reach Humberside Airport. From there they took a taxi Beelsby, where the Campbell Manor was located.

Beelsby was a small village that was the source for the River Freshney; it had a population of approximately two-hundred people. It was a simple and homey place; moreover, the air was cleaner and purer than that of the city. After riding off the taxi, the trio asked around for the local taxi man of the village and finally found him standing with a group of men noisily chatting. They approached him with their luggage in their hands.

"Excuse me sir," Lavi said politely to the tallest man of the group who was identified as the local taxi man, "Can you take us to the Campbell manor?"

He had not anticipated the sudden silence of the men upon hearing his sentence; their faces drained, and all excused themselves but the man to whom Lavi asked his question.

"Sorry young man, I cannot." He said, scratching the back of his head and averting his eyes from the trio's.

Lavi looked around but all the taxi men had flown away from the scene, and when the tall man with the sharp nose tried to discreetly walk away, Lavi spoke once more, "Do you know someone who can take us? Everyone seems to have disappeared."

The man stopped in his tracks and kept silent much to Kanda's annoyance, who growled, "Hey did you hear him, Mr. Sharp Nose?" and Lenalee pinched him.

Lavi sighed at his friend's temper and awaited the man to storm toward them to demand excuses to his behavior, but weirdly, he did not. Instead he slowly turned his head and said in a strangled voice,

"Cross the village to the west, there you will find an old man sitting next to the haystacks with a big grey hound. Ask him."

"Alright, thanks!" Lavi and Lenalee beamed and walked away, with Kanda on their tail.

"I hope," the tall man whispered, watching as the trio disappeared between the houses, "I truly hope that he would refuse."

Finding that old man was no hard deal; he was exactly where the tall man had said he would be, smoking a cigarette. His face was hidden by a dirtied old hat. His hound, whose eyes were following their every step as they approached them, was beefy; he quickly sat up when they stopped by them.

When Lavi asked the old man the same question he had previously asked, the man answered without looking up,

"That would be twenty pounds."

"What?" Lavi asked stupefied. He held his hand in front of Kanda to prevent him from doing anything stupid.

"Why is it so expensive?" Lenalee inquired, "Even the taxi that brought us here was less pricy."

"Because going there is risky," he answered, looking up to them.

"There's nothing risky here to make it that expensive." Kanda meddled in and the man let out a husky laugh.

"You townsmen should not take these woods lightly. Plus, if you haven't noticed, no one will accept to take you there but me. Choice is yours."

The trio exchanged questioning looks, and then decided that accepting was their last hope. "Alright," Lenalee was the one to say, "We accept."

The old man, whose nose and cheeks were bright red, threw the cigarette butt after taking one last breath in it and stepped on it hard with his black dirty farmer boots; his clothes were messy and filthy. He wore what seemed to be a maroon scarf, though Lavi wondered if it was its original color or if it was the accumulation of years of dirt; his big-sized, black suede coat shielded him from the cold. He whistled to the dog, and the two walked over to a chariot that was stationed next to the red barn; he caressed the two horses that were linked to the chariot and told the trio to come.

"Wait," Lenalee said, her index pointing questionably at the chariot, "This is your vehicle?"

"Got a problem with that?" he answered as he rode it.

"Twenty pounds for _that_?"

"Listen little missy, we are going through the woods, you don't expect a car to cross a messed up road, do you?"

Kanda clicked his tongue for the nth time, and Lavi mustered his thoughts, "Let's go guys, the sooner the better." and they walked over.

The wooden chariot was old and very dusty; it was simple, the passenger rode on the back where the two long seats stood naked, without shelter. Lenalee and Lavi sat next to each other, with their luggage at their feet, on the seat facing the road and Kanda sat in front of them with the old man's dog on his left.

The horses started moving, led by the old red-faced man; the chariot moved dangerously against the rocky road, forcing the three travelers to hang on the broken armrests. It took them few minutes to exit the village and enter the woods.

The road broke down the monstrous woods and outstretched to the dark horizon that only gave view to more threes. In contrast, the chariot's creaky sound played a harmonious melody with the woods' sounds. As they went on further deep in the woods, the manor started to be visible on the small hill straight ahead of them. The grumpy charioteer whispered small words in a low and small voice to his two beautiful horses. The previously silent dog, which was sitting next to Kanda, suddenly raised his head toward the sky, positioned himself in a positing of attack and started to grunt toward the sky.

"Quiet!" his master barked back, and the dog did so, letting out a small cry of defeat.

At the same time a wolf's howl was heard and an enormous flight of black birds passed noisily over their heads, mingling eerily with the cloudy sky. The stillness of the atmosphere was frustrating and Lenalee started to feel the cold reaching her well-hidden body.

"Are you okay, Lena?" Kanda was the first to notice the young lady's discomfort and she smiled tiredly, "I'm fine, don't worry."

The old man coughed hoarsely, then said, "You fools shouldn't have come here."

"What did you just say?" Kanda grunted, turning his head to look at the driver.

"Kanda hush!" Lavi said, "I beg your pardon?"

"This place… it's cursed." He answered, never taking his eyes off the road, while the sinister melody of the woods kept on replaying its chorus. "Only fools dare to venture in that cursed manor."

"Sorry old man, but we don't believe in ghosts." Lavi chuckled, trying to ease up the unpleasant atmosphere.

"It's not a ghost story, no, not at all. _That_ family is cursed, it has always been; if you cherish your life, I suggest you nicely go back to your homes. This place is dangerous."

"What do you mean by cursed?" Lenalee asked with a tiny voice, but the man did not answer.

"He's just messing around Lena, don't mind him. He looks quite crazy to me, so these must be some messed up stories he came up with." Kanda shrugged, turning back and Lenalee cried at her friend's comment, "Kanda!"

"Believe what you want to believe, but be careful, _very careful_." The man uttered in a thin voice. Then he once again drowned in silence.

The trio shrugged off his behavior despite its eeriness, but Lenalee was deeply troubled. She kept on a superficial smile so that her two friends would not be worried; true, she was the one who encouraged this trip, and she was the horror-addict of the group, but somehow, she had a feeling that what she had done was wrong.

Perhaps, it would have been better to not come here at all. After all, that manor was rumored to be–

All of sudden, the chariot stopped moving and the trio was shaken from their places.

"Hey!" Lavi shouted to the charioteer. "Why stopping so suddenly without notice?"

Since the beginning of the hiking, the old man turned his head and faced them for the first time. Kanda's eyes fell on the charioteer's blue one. It was only for a fragment of seconds, but Kanda believed to have seen a revolting burn scar which dominated the right side of his wrinkled face.

"This is the furthest place I can reach, the rest of the road you have to walk. Getting near that cursed manor is the last thing I want." He said, spitting on the floor.

What the trio learned about this man was that he was stubborn and did as he pleased, so they simply –and gladly– rode down the dirty chariot and stood far from it to leave him a large place to turn around the horses.

Lenalee said, smiling, "Thank you for bringing us here, and we're sorry for the disturbance."

"May the odds be in your favor…" the old man whispered before setting off.

Kanda was the only one to hear those prayers.

The charioteer retreated as if he was escaping from death, never looking back, to finally disappear from the view. The trio kept quiet for few moments, looking around them. Then Kanda said, "Fucker. Let's get going before it gets dark." Lenalee nodded silently and Lavi looked up at the manor which was extending behind the woods.

It was a walk of approximately half an hour; it was a good thing that none of them took heavy luggage or it would have been difficult to climb that road. As they entered the avenue of the Campbell Manor, dead trees expanded all along the alley, inviting them in with their long and sharp branches. The gatehouse in front of them had craved on its top the letter 'C' ornamented with two flowers on its sides.

When they reached the gatehouse made of rocks, which was adorned with spiky plants, the three young adults watched with amazement the beautiful building in front of them. In the middle of the courtyard was an ancient marble fountain that was obviously not working; however, it was full of dirty water and plant remnants.

The trio climbed walked past it, analyzing their surroundings. And then they climbed the wide steps of the entrance, to finally stand at the door, anxious. They exchanged small glances, trying to prompt the other to ring the bell. In the end, it was Lavi, the master of the invitation who did so.

Approximately, half a minute later, the gigantic wooden door was opened and a young woman dressed in a black silk dress and an apron received them, "Welcome home, master T–" but the maid stopped in mid-sentence when she took notice of who was at the door. She was at first shocked, but soon her professional profile came back.

"Good evening, may I help you?" she said, her eyes travelling on them.

"Hello, this is the Campbell manor, right?" Lavi asked, sending her a flirtatious smile that she brushed off.

"Unmistakably, yes, and who might you be?"

"We are–"

Suddenly, a man's peaked voice was heard alongside hurried footsteps, "Maid, why isn't my brother inside yet?" The maid jolted when the owner of the voice stopped next to her frowning at the sight of the trio, "Who are these people?" he said addressing to the maid.

"I ignore that, Master Sheryl."

The tall and thin man, whose ebony hair was held in a firm ponytail, said, his eyes narrowing, "Useless person."

Feeling offended for the innocent maid, Lavi spoke in a rather high voice, "Excuse our intrusion, my name is Lavi Bookman and these are my friends Yu Kanda and Lenalee Lee. We came here upon receiving an invitation from the Campbell family."

What right had this man to speak in such manner to a woman?

 _'_ _Bookman?'_ The man named Sheryl raised a stupefied brow, "Hand me this invitation." He ordered boldly, outstretching his hand toward Lavi who quickly consented. "O-of course."

The two strands of hair which fell on his face danced vividly against the blowing wind. Sheryl wore midnight blue formal clothes that reflected his pale color; he practically stole the envelope from Lavi's hand and hastily tugged out the invitation to read it.

Lavi noticed the sudden change in the man as he read the small piece of paper; his eyebrows furrows and lips moved slowly, pronouncing every syllable under his breath. Sheryl turned around the envelope and examined the broken seal, _'This is without doubt the seal of the earl, but…'_

"Is there a problem?" Lenalee inquired after a long silence; the man looked up to her, his facial features still the same.

"You may come in," Sheryl said, and the maid opened the other side of the door. "I am Sheryl Kamelot Noah, the fourth son of the current Earl Campbell."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Lavi said in a try to be civilized with that bold man who happened to be one of the lords. However, Sheryl brushed him off and continued,

"You can leave your luggage at the door; the servants will take them to your appointed rooms, whereas you will follow the maid to the sitting room.

"Yes, of course."

Sheryl threw them one last skeptical glance then turned to face the maid, "Take them to the main sitting room, maid."

The maid bowed, "Yes, master Sheryl," and then he disappeared behind the right turning of the entryway

"If you would please follow me."

The trio nodded, dropping their bags at the door to walk behind the maid. They crossed the entryway, climbed the left side stairs, which were covered with a red carpet that mixed well with the brown color of the place, and then took the first left turning upon reaching the top. There, at the top of the stairs stood on the wall an immense picture; the carved frame was wooden and the picture was unmistakably painted. It depicted a well-built man with black long hair that fell on him like cascades; his face was tilted to the right and his pitch black eyes gaze harshly at the far distance. The man was wearing grey formal clothing and a long hat. Lavi stared at it until it was out of sight.

The décor was breathtaking; Lavi could see Lenalee squealing silently from happiness from the corner of his eyes. Even Kanda, who kept a calm demeanor, was taken aback with the design of the manor.

The white, ornamented ceiling was high above them, holding in crystal chandeliers; the red walls were full of canvases and small torches. Vases, trinkets and bibelots stood shinning gracefully on the ancient furniture that rested against the walls. And it did not stop there, at the extremities of each door they met, stood some familiar sculptures.

Lavi wondered if there were some original ones amongst those sculptures.

When they arrived to what Sheryl called the main sitting room, the maid opened the doors and said,

"Please make yourselves comfortable, the Earl will soon come to meet you. Now, if you will excuse me."

And the trio was left alone.

"Oh my God!" Lenalee said, jumping and Kanda sighed before making himself comfortable on an armchair, "There she goes again."

Lavi chuckled and followed the Japanese man to sit on the sofa next to him.

Lenalee walked all around the sitting room, examining every corner. It was a large purple room which was dominated by the presence of a stone chimney and a golden framed mirror above it. The walls were covered by canvases and the corners by furniture and vases. In the middle were two large low tables with golden, round glass nesting table, and around them rested four large sofas and two armchairs.

"This place is so beautiful," Lenalee exclaimed joyfully as she watched her reflection on the mirror. "In your opinion, what does the _Earl_ look like? Oh! I hope that he is a handsome middle aged man like in most TV shows!"

Kanda rolled his eyes, resting his face on the back of his hand; he glanced at Lavi, who was shyly sitting on the sofa next to him, and examining the place silently. And when Kanda was about to utter something to him, the doors were suddenly thrown open, making the trio jolt in surprise.

There at the door stood three men and a young girl accompanied by four servants. The eldest man of the group, who was standing in the middle, was the first to enter the sitting room. He was tall, chubby, and well clothed; he had a fair skin colored with a slight beard and mustache. His medium-length black hair fell on his back. He walked elegantly over to them, and the two sitting guests automatically sat up to meet their hosts.

"Good evening, my dear guests." He said cheerfully, extending his hand toward a handshake, "Let me introduce myself, I am Adam Campbell Noah, the current Earl of the Campbell family."

Lavi and Lenalee happened to be the only two persons to be intimidated by the presence of the Earl.

"And this is Sheryl Kamelot Noah and Feedler Noah, my sons and the cutest girl of all time, Road Kamelot Noah my granddaughter."

Both Sheryl and the long haired man named Feedler shook the hands of the three guests, while the little purple haired girl, who had a lollipop in her mouth, waved sweetly at them.

"Lavi Bookman, pleased to finally meet you."

"Yu Kanda."

"Lenalee Lee, glad to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine!" The Earl said, "Please take a seat."

Kanda and Lavi sat back to their previous places with Lenalee next to the redhead. The Earl sat in the second armchair which was in front of Kanda, and his family members on the sofa to his right.

The servant walked in after that, entering a kitchen trolley with them, which nested a Victorian tea service and cake plates.

"Are you perhaps a relative of Mr. Bookman?" Adam asked and Lavi nodded.

"Yes," Lavi said, slowly, "Yes I am, he is my grandfather."

The Earl did not falter, but his two sons did; their eyes wide open.

"Grandfather?" the young girl named Road spoke in a candy voice, "I never knew that Bookman was married and had children, let alone grandchildren. Where are your parents?"

Lenalee blinked at the girl's attitude; it was impolite of her to talk about the late Bookman without using honorifics or anything of the sort. He was not a person of her age, for God's sake!

Lavi shrugged, "They died when I was a child, I do not remember much of them."

"How did they die?"

"Road, be polite." Feedler said, glancing over to the girl sitting at the other extremity of the sofa before apologizing to Lavi, "I'm sorry for her behavior, you do not have to answer that."

Sheryl retorted, "My cute Road did nothing wrong, Feedler, she is just a curious child. Let her be."

"No, it is fine," he laughed, scratching the back of his head, "We used to live in Wales, and a fire happened."

Road tugged out the lollipop out of her mouth and her lips formed a small _'o'_ to accentuate her stupefaction. "Is that how you lost your right eye?" The two men kept quiet and the Earl spoke, "That's enough Road. We are sorry for making you speak about unpleasant events."

"It's fine. It happened a long time ago, so…"

"Don't say that," the Earl said, sadness overwhelming his voice, "It is never fine, we never forget, we just…live with that truth."

Lavi lowered his eyes, watching indifferently as the servants served them tea. _'Live with it, huh…'_ the redhead had never thought he would be able to do it; living with the pain, he would not stand it.

Adam took possession of his teacup and asked, "And how is your grandfather doing? Why did he not come with you?"

Kanda glanced at Lavi, unsure of what to do, but it was Lenalee who took control of it, "Actually, about–"

However before she could finish her sentence, Lavi cut her off saying, a small smile covering his sadness, "It is fine, Lenalee." His index caressed the teacup; this was the first time that he was actually pronouncing the words _dead_ and _grandfather_ in the same sentence. The hosts looked at him, waiting for his answer.

"My grandfather died six months ago."

Lavi was not sure how he was able to say it; he was not sure why their hosts were so shocked, but what he was definitely sure of, is that the acute sound of the cup hitting the ground and breaking into tiny pieces was undoubtedly real.

"Earl!" Road cried, jumping toward him, "Are you alright?" right after her the two other men walked to him, worry written all over their faces.

Upon hearing the sound, maids entered the sitting room; in their hands were cleaning handkerchiefs and a first aid kit.

"I-I am alright, don't worry." He said, but that did not ease up his family members. They helped him change his place so that the maids could clean the mess. The trio kept quiet at the unexpected commotion, not knowing what exactly triggered such reaction.

"I'm sorry," The Earl sighed, putting his right hand on his eyes, "I– we did not get wind of it. This news is horrible for me; your grandfather was a good friend of mine…the last friend I had."

"We present you our sincere condolences, my child." Feedler said, nodding lightly.

Lavi smiled, "Thank you, I appreciate it."

Lenalee hated seeing Lavi in a negative state of mind; she slowly reached for him and put her left hand on his, trying to be supportive. She knew that he was grateful for everything she had done for him, but she also knew that he was still aching.

"So," Lenalee voiced, trying to change the subject, "You had said in the invitation that the party will be in honor of the Earl, but what are we exactly celebrating?"

The four Campbell family members looked up to Lenalee and seemed unsure of what to say, until Road spoke.

"On the eighteenth day of this month, a week from today, will be the twenty-fifth anniversary of Adam becoming the Earl of the Campbell family. We will be celebrating that memorable day."

"Wonderful, isn't it?" Lenalee cheered, looking at Kanda, trying to get a reaction from him, but he did was shrug.

Sheryl, who had been silent since earlier, finally spoke, "Maid," he called, "Accompany our guests to their rightful rooms, they must be exhausted from the long road."

"Yes, master Sheryl." She answered, bowing.

"You can have a small rest until dinner is served; the maid will show you everything you will need," Feedler enlightened.

"Alright," Lenalee said, getting up from her seat.

The trio moved out behind the maid, leaving their hosts sitting comfortably in their places.

They walked what seemed to be a tiring way; perhaps it was the exhaustion of the travel that was finally appearing. They climbed down the stairs that led to the west wing of the manor; as a separation between the main and west wings stood a closed giant, stone tower. They walked past it, and took the first stairs on their right upon reaching the open corridors. They climbed to the second floor, took the second turning to their left and entered what seemed to be a complete different house. The design of that floor was different from all the other ones; the walls and flooring were wooden made, and the ceiling was bright red. They walked down that hallway to finally reach a dead end.

The maid stopped and opened the door of the first room to the left, "This will be your room, Miss Lenalee." Then, she proceeded in opening the one next to it, "This one will be yours, mister Lavi."

And finally she reached for the one facing Lenalee's room, "And this will be yours, mister Kanda."

The trio nodded at the maid and Lenalee thanked her.

"The bathroom is on the third left turning down this hall. You can rest for now, dinner will be served at nine o'clock in the dinning room. Someone will come and fetch you at that time. If you need anything, there is a button next to the beds; push it and a servant would soon come to you. Now, if you would excuse me."

~o*0*o~

For Kanda, it was an odd place sheltering even odder people.

His first impression on the manor was good; it was a beautiful place, which he had the intention of visiting every corner. However, his first impression of the owners was quite bad. That Sheryl man seemed like the type of people Kanda hated, arrogant, bossy and obnoxious. The way he had spoken to the maid earlier was too offensive; he had no right to degrade of a person's worth even it was his employee. That little girl was also uneducated; too meddlesome. Please, who allows children these days to sit with guests? The brown haired man with that weird hair style, whose name Kanda forgot, seemed normal, but Kanda quickly changed his mind when he saw him putting too much honey in his tea. The Earl seemed like a calm dignified man, perhaps the only normal one; however, his reaction to the death of Lavi's grandfather was intriguing. Why had the news affected him greatly? Were they that close? If they were, then why hadn't Lavi been told about the Campbell before today?

Kanda held Mugen in his hand, contemplating it.

It had been a long time since he had offered to himself some relaxing holidays. Kanda had drowned himself in work and rejected every opportunity Lenalee and Lavi used to offer him.

It was not a question of time, not at all. Komui was a strict and easy-going boss; even he had asked Kanda to take some free days for himself as he noted that Kanda was too much of a workaholic who hadn't taken a single day off since he started working in his firm. For Kanda, working himself to the top was a must. He wanted to be a professional who managed his own business without needing help from other. If it wasn't to gain experience, he would not have worked for Lenalee's older brother, who had a terrible sister-complex. Being dependent on other people was frustrating and unacceptable to Kanda

Kanda did not know since when this obsession started; perhaps it was always there.

Ever since he started living with Froi Tiedoll, an old, irritating, bothersome and gluey painter who was also his foster father, Kanda had hated the fact of being taken care of; that was perhaps the main reason he had moved out of the familial house back in highschool and started working a part-time job. His _father_ , as Tiedoll liked to call himself –much to Kanda's annoyance–, had obviously objected the very idea of his son moving out and so had his two foster brother, Mary and Daisya. It took them time to accept Kanda's stubbornness and let him do as he pleased. Of course, being the overly-affectionate father he was, Tiedoll visited him every day to check on him; it took him a while to get used to the situation, but his love for his son never ceased.

Kanda certainly reciprocated his family's love and affection, but had a hard time expressing it. Or to be exact, he did not want to express it. That was something innate; it had nothing to do with the fact that they were not blood-related, it was simply his nature. Even with Lenalee and Lavi he acted the same way, there used to be an exception once, but today, there were none.

Kanda changed his clothes after he finished tidying up his clothes and items in the room, and hid his sword under the bed. He stretched his limbs, tiredness building in him. He walked to the sole window of the room and watched as the faint rain, that announced the arrival of a storm, began falling silently over the, now, darkened manor.

Kanda was worried about Lavi.

It was something he would never say out loud, and Lavi knew that much. The man had been drowning in his exorbitant sorrow for months now. Kanda knew that losing a family member was difficult as he had lived the death of his foster brother Daisya. Death was something inevitable; it could happen without notice anywhere, anytime, to anyone out there. No one knew, no one knows and no one will ever know. It crawled silently over the body, slowly immobilizing it and whispering hope, to finally clutch deep and hurtful needles with all its might. The dying person suffers, but on the contrary to the living one, their suffering has an end. Even for Kanda, the mourning over Daisya's death took him time, that is why he understood what Lavi was going through, but their reactions were not the same. Lavi was taking too much time while isolating himself and confining himself in his four-walled room.

Many people reached out for him, Komui, Johnny, Crowley, Miranda, Mary, himself and many other, but he had rejected every kind hand offered to help him get up. His state was worsening.

Lenalee was their last hope, and in the end, she proved to be the best support for Lavi. Ever since Kanda introduced the two to each other, they shared an instant attraction and bounded quite well.

Truth to be told, the main reason Kanda had accepted to come here was to get Lavi have a change of air, well Lenalee's threats also played a role, but Lavi was the essential one. He partially opened the window to let in some clean air; Kanda did not mind it being cold, he was fond of the cold weather.

The window of Kanda's room, which was situated on the second floor of the west wing of the manor, gave view over the back garden of the manor which lead to what seemed to be a chapel. Odd, Kanda thought.

This place was most definitely odd.

There in the long distance, among the trees, Kanda noticed a white figure walking peacefully down the way of the backyard leading to the woods beyond the brown chapel. Kanda kept on following the figure with his fierce eyes, until it disappeared in-between the somber woods.

Kanda did not know what that exactly was, but he surely hoped that their stay in this manor would be harmless.

~o*0*o~

When Lavi opened the door of his room upon hearing a knock, he didn't expect the person to be Lenalee. Her presence did wonders to him.

"Hey." He said stepping out of the way to let her enter; she ushered inside playfully, a wide grin plastered on her face.

"I can't believe it," She spoke, turning around in circles with her hands above her head, "I can't believe we actually came," then dropped on the bed, and hugged a pillow.

Lavi couldn't help but ask, "Did you go see Kanda?"

"No, and I won't, you know him. He's a maniac when it comes to tidying up his things; better not disturb him." She retorted without missing a heartbeat.

"Yes, true." He coughed, hiding a tiny smile of relief. Knowing that his was the only one to be visited made him greatly glad.

"Everything is beautiful and magical, even this feather pillow is!" the green haired young woman resumed giggled. Lavi stood by the window smiling, content to see his friend in such joy.

Truth to be told, even he was glad they were here despite being against it in first place. It was a changing, to both him and his friends.

"I feel like this adventure will be the most memorable one in my entire life." She confessed, appeased by the silent mood and clean air, with eyes closed and pillow still against her chest.

"So do I." he muttered, "so do I."

* * *

 **Invitation for Death**

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Hello, thank you for reading the first chapter of Echo of Noise! I hope you enjoyed it!**

 ***Le me who has a mountain of -posted and not posted- ongoing fanfics, decided to write this idea that has been eating my brain lately*(do I have a death wish or something?)**

 **Let's see, the rating will be T because there would be nothing too explicit, if I dare say. Though some scenes might pop up here and there in a future chapter or two. Kanda has a mouth, we all know that, and there would be some creepiness, so~**

 **To be honest, I already have two DGM stories in my computer waiting to be written, but this one was too overwhelming to let it be. So I started it.** **As for the updates, do not expect them to be frequent, but I promise to do my best!**

 **One last thing, my apologies if you happen to stumble on some errors, I just finished writing and revising it and it's already 2am in my part of the world (sleep is calling me)**

 **Well, thank you again for reading; some feedback would really be appreciated!**

 **See you~**


	2. Second Secret - Diary of the Dead

**Disclamer: D. Gray-Man belongs to Katsura Hoshino, this is a work of fiction not for profit.**

 **Theme song: Nine Lashes - In the Dark**

 **Warning: mild sexual content/incest (or not? :) )**

* * *

 **Second Secret**

"That was unexpected."

"What exactly was? Three strangers invading our house, or, perhaps… a letter which I did not sent, containing both my signature and seal?"

Road looked up, sealing her eyes with the Earl's; indeed, everything that had happened was both unexpected and unwelcomed. It was the same surprise felt when eating a raisin cookie and tasting that sourness thinking it was chocolate chips cookie.

"Were you able to see the letter?" Road asked, rolling the strawberry flavored lollipop between her lips.

Every year at this precise time, the mental health of the Earl degraded, and every year would be worse than the predecessor. However, this time, Road felt that this year was going be the worst of all. The fact that three strangers invaded their home at such time was not helping at all.

"No," he gently shook his head, "Sheryl did, and he confirmed that it was undoubtedly _my_ seal."

After a small thought the young looking girl responded, "We have to get our hands on it."

"The letter is not a problem, it can wait. What bothers me…" The Earl paused for few seconds, the words heavy on his tongue and heart, "is who sent it."

Road knew what was dwelling inside Adam's mind and how every thought was consuming him little by little, driving him quietly into an abyss of insanity. "Could it be bookman?" she said. Driving him away from the presumed truth was the only way to prevent it.

"He is dead." Adam said as a matter of fact, holding his head between his trembling hands. "I still cannot believe that he already left this world."

"He could have prepared all this beforehand; he was a troublesome fellow after all. Who knows what he had under his sleeves." She continued slowly, to gently pull him in her net of lies and deceits like she had always done to protect him.

"But why would he do this? Our debts were all cleared and, apparently, his grandson knows nothing of us, _of that incident…_ "

"Supposed grandson, he could be an imposter for all we know." Road corrected, but the silence of Adam to it made her questionably furrow her brows. "Is there something you are hiding from me Earl?"

"Nothing that could probably concern you, Road." Adam sighed. "So it takes us back to square one. Who?"

Road tensed.

"One of us." He said, pronouncing clearly every single syllable.

"Earl—" but it was too late, his mind had already wandered toward that destructive deduction, a deduction that would be the end of their happy days.

"A member of my beloved family betrayed me."

"That is impossible!" She tried to clear his suspicion, but in vain.

"Road!" The Earl slammed his desk fiercely, making the girl freeze on the chair. "It had both my seal _and_ my signature. You know best, so don't you dare, under any circumstances, try to fool me."

His cheeks were burning, and eyes glared at the horizon. Adam joined both hands into a ball, trying to maintain a cool composure, but his breathing betrayed him; he was taking-in short and quick breaths. "My beloved family, my happy family, my beautiful family, my only family betrayed me. They betrayed me, me, _me!_ After everything I had done for them, after every sacrifice I made."

Blood veins popped in his forehead, and his colors were changing drastically; he started to clasp his hands hysterically to finally ravage his desk, bringing all its content to the ground. He was losing it. "For my family's happiness I went as far as to punish my brother for his foolishness! Yet…"

Road, put down her lollipop and slowly moved from her seat to get an anesthesia shot from one of the bookcase drawers.

Adam finally collapsed into tears, letting out all his frustrations. He watched with blurry eyes his palms that were adorned with sins. "I never thought that something like this would happen someday, I never thought that one of them might one day betray me!"

Hiding the syringe in her pocket, she took him in a tight and comforting embrace to wash him off his doubts and uncertainties. "Earl..."

"Could it be Allen? It must be Allen! He hates me doesn't he?" he said between hiccups, "After all I...to him… I..."

"Allen could never hate you, he loves you more than he loved his own father and you should never doubt that." Road reassured, running a warm hand through his grayish hair while the other gently patted his back.

"All I've ever wanted was for my family to be happy, for us to be happy; how did we get to this point? All the sins I committed were to reach happiness, so _why_?"

Road broke the embrace and cupped his watery face with one slender hand while the other reached for the syringe. Smiling fondly, she promised as she injected the needle through his neck vein, "Don't you worry, I will take care of everything Earl. Don't you worry."

The girl gently put his head on the desk, then walked back to the drawer and put back the syringe to its place. Road watched one last time the wreaked study, sighed and took her leave. She exited the room from the only door it had and climbed down the stairs that led to the gigantic library; the walls were adorned with books of all kinds that she had all read.

Road walked carefully on the paving slab flooring with her small heels, afraid to slip and fall like she used to do when she was a child. Walking only straight ahead, she reached the wooden door of the study building and made her way out of it.

It was raining cats and dogs; a servant, who had been waiting behind the door all that time, sheltered the little lady under the black umbrella he was holding. And the two set off to one of the backyard entries of the manor that led to the kitchens.

Upon their entry in the right wing of the manor, the umbrella man took his leave and Road faced the servant that she had previously summoned there: the manor's butler, the chief of the maids, the cook and the gardener.

Road was quiet for a moment, then said, "Next Friday we will be hosting a party, and I want you to start preparing everything from today on before the storm begins. Am I understood?"

The butler nodded, "Yes, lady Road."

"Have my uncles returned?"

"Yes," the chief of maids answered, "Both went to their respectable rooms."

"Good, good." She nodded to herself, and then resumed, "When dinner is ready, summon everyone, including our guests, for dinner."

The servants bowed, and took their leave. Road looked around her, searching for a specific head, but it was nowhere around. So she moved around the different rooms of the kitchens only to find the person she was looking for in the cold room. The cold room was quite spacious, and the sound of the compressor was deafening, so Road stood at the door frame on her tiptoes, the cold hair being emitted started to reach her, and she shouted to be heard,

"Mimi!"

"Lady Road?" Said Mimi inquired, turning her head toward the source of the voice. The grey haired maid put the meat she was holding in a shelf and made her way out of the room as she took off her disposable gloves."It is unusual to see you here, lady Road. How honoring." She said flashing a smile, locking the door behind her.

"Spare me your irony." Road retorted. She had always wondered how Mimi could enter the cold room without wearing a jacket or such. The pale blue haired servant was standing in her typical uniform; it was the redness of her nose that betrayed her.

"I'd like you to go fetch the Earl from his study."

The comic aura Mimi was displaying was soon replaced by a serious one when the word _earl_ was uttered. "Understood. Anything else?" she raised a brow, waiting for the following order she knew Road was about to give.

Cracking her fingers, Road said in a low tone, "Also, I want you to _discreetly_ clean the study this evening after you finish attending Lulubell. Was I clear enough?"

"Of course, my lady. Your orders are absolute."

"Perfect…You can go." Mimi bowed, and left. Road watched the young servant as she made her way out of the kitchens; the rain was becoming heavier by the minute.

"Don't you worry, Earl. No one will disturb our happy home _… no one_."

* * *

The dark haired young man leaned on his sleeping companion, showering him with butterfly kisses –as he tried his best to avoid the burns.

The sun had disappeared in the horizon, leaving nothing but infinite darkness and a dimly lighted room. As far as he remembered, the manor had always been a somber place full darkness, misery, and agony, but both he and his twin had gotten used to life in that place which accepted them as they were. Never pushing them away, never laughing at them, never judging them; the manor took them in with much love. And that was the only reason why they lived abiding by its harsh rules.

The sleeping blond growled gently when his twin brother reached the lower part of his belly. "Devit," he said, opening his eyes slowly as he gently pushed Devit's head from his body. "Stop."

"Do you really want me to?" the elder twin smiled, malice written all over his face.

"Not really," Jasedero muttered, pouting. If he could, Jasedero would never leave that bed; if he could, he would never let go of his twin, but it wasn't something that could be fulfilled. "But it's dinner time, and I took a shower not long ago. Are three rounds not enough?"

Devit shrugged, without second thought. "Let's just skip dinner." Then smirked, making his twin blush, "You know that I can never get enough of you."

"The earl will be mad and I won't be able to handle another punishment, so it's a no." Jasedero answered with much sadness, trying to avoid his brother's eyes as he sat up with difficulty.

Upon hearing those words, Devit's face aggravated. "Does it still hurt?" he asked as he lightly touched the burned chest of his brother.

"Duh! Of course it does; it has been three days only."

"I'm sorry." Devit murmured, hiding his face in his brother's neck.

"Jasedevi are one." the blond twin smiled as he ran his hand through Devit's hair. "My pain is yours, your pain is mine, and everything is for your sake. As long as you are beside me, I can cross entire oceans."

Devit loved this manor, he surely did, but he undoubtedly loved his twin more than anything else. And seeing his brother hurting was the last thing he wanted, but the manor could not be betrayed. Devit clenched his fists into balls and hit his twin on the head.

"Hee! It hurts!" Jasedero whimpered, reaching for his head with both hands, and Devit retorted, "This is for trying to act mature."

Jasedero laughed heartedly, and said before he cupped Devit's face and brought it closer to gently crush their lips together, "Stupid."

They crumbled in a series of small and innocent kisses that easily turned into deep and hungry ones; Devit dropped a hand to his twin's neck whilst the other ran gently down his chest. Jasedero grabbed him by the collar of his shirt as his back collided against the bed. The blond twin spread his legs a little and felt his brother smile against his mouth, the very same mouth that soon started to travel down. It started with his pulse. Devit teasingly sucked his pulse and neck, making sure to leave lasting marks. It wasn't like anyone ever took interest in Jasedero in _that way_ in the manor, but the older twin adored seeing his love adorning the other's body.

Seriously, his brother was a fucking fine piece of art. Standing across of his love was his conscious lust; it had always existed. Devit had been aware of his lust toward his twin since childhood and always used foolish pretexts to touch him –like feigning his fright of the dark to be able to sleep beside him.

As Devit's hand took possession of his twin's pants zipper, an unwelcomed knock on the door interrupted them and Devit growled, " _Yes?_ "

"Master Devit, Master Jasedero, dinner is served and you are expected downstairs." A small feminine voice said from behind the door.

"Alright, we're coming." Devit roughly ruffled his hair, threw the half naked blond a long stare, and then hastily got up of bed. "Wear some clothes bro, and let's get going." He said as he threw a shirt to his brother, who hummed, hiding a small smile.

The two made their way toward the dining room after Jasedero took a last glance in the mirror. Their room rested in the right wing of the manor, on the third floor right above the kitchens, whilst the dining room was situated in the main building, near the main hall.

A comfortable silence reigned on their walk; no words were exchanged between the two, and the corridors were empty of servants. They walked on the same pace, hands entwined and the corners of their mouths slightly twitched upward.

The servant standing by the door of the dining room swung open the door when the twins arrived. They were welcomed by the usual sight; the long dining table that counted eighteen chairs faced them, with plates and cutlery set on top. The floor was wooden, and on the beige walls rested antique tapestry. Three crystal chandeliers hung on the ceiling to illuminate the room. The twins entered the dining room, leaving behind them the welsh dresser that held porcelain plats.

The white curtains of the large windows, that occupied an entire wall, were slowly dancing to the rhythm of the cool wind.

Alongside the family members, silence occupied the dining room.

The greeting of the twins received little acknowledgment from the people sitting at the table, but that did not bother them, they were used to it. Each of the two walked toward their respectable seats, letting their eyes travel on the people sitting.

The Earl sat on the head of the table, and Jasedero noticed –despite his calm figure– his uneasiness. Beside him on the right was their fourth oldest brother, Tryde, who had his hands folded again his chest with eyes closed. He was probably asleep, because Tryde was that type of person. Next to him was their thirst eldest brother, Sheryl. Quite annoying and full of himself, perhaps a little abusive, but appreciated by the twins. Then came Feedler, the nicest person they had ever encountered in their life, and definitely the sibling they loved most.

On the fourth seat on the right rested Skin next to the twins who occupied the fifth and sixth chairs. They had exchanged with Skin very few words in their life despite living in the same place.

On the left side of the table, near the earl, were the empty seats of Tyki and Wisely. Mercym, the second eldest brother sat on the third seat and right next to him was Road who was flashing them a sweet smile; both were _odd,_ but nonetheless nice people in the view of the twins. Lulubell and Mightra followed, and next to them was the empty seat of their cousin.

It was until Jasedero sat and turned his head to the left that he realized the presence of three strangers. Jerking at the sight, he leaned on his brother to escape the long haired man next to him, and poked Devit who raised a brow at his twin's odd conduct.

The raven haired young man's eyes widened at the sight of three people staring at them. At the extremity of the table was a redheaded man with a patch on the eye, with a green haired young woman on the seat next to their cousin's.

"Huh? Who are those?" Devit asked, furrowing his brows, and Jasedero echoed after him. "Who are they? Who are they?"

Kanda narrowed his eyes, not liking the two men sitting next to him, as Lenalee and Lavi flashed wavering smiles.

"Dense as usual," Sheryl said, shaking his head in false despair, "It took you quite a long time to notice them sitting next to you."

"I would say _stupid._ " Road giggled, and Mercym reprimanded, "Your language, Road."

"Now then children," the Earl clasped his hands twice, "Let's wait for everyone before doing the presentations."

Silence was back to the room as soon as Adam uttered those words. After all, _no one disobeys the earl._ Jasedero, however, was still bothered by Kanda's presence, and pushed his seat closer to his twin brother's.

Suddenly the doors swung open, and a yawning white haired man appeared. He silently sat and took the pills that rested next to his cutlery. It was after taking large gulps of water, and letting out a long sigh that he finally spoke,

"Why did none of you bother waking me up before dinner? You know that sleeping until now gives me headaches."

"Start depending on yourself a little Wisely, you can put on an alarm for example." Feedler pointed out, shrugging.

Wisely growled, running a hand through his white locks, "As if that thought didn't cross my mind. I have set _fifteen_ alarms, but none of them succeeded in waking me."

"You can stop taking naps." Next to him Mercym snorted –knowing how foolish he sounded.

"That's not even an option. It's like asking Skin or Road to not eat candies."

"That's right you can't undo that!" Road squealed, bouncing on her seat, and skin hummed, nodding his head.

"What are we waiting for anyway?" Wisely asked as he looked at the empty plates.

"The usual late comers." Tryde finally let his voice echo in the room, earning a glance from the white haired young man, who asked another question. "Are those guests?"

"Apparently~!" Devit mused with his twin echoing behind him, "Yes, yes, mysterious guests!"

A dumbfounded look adorned Wisely's face, "How long are you staying here? Oh, and who are you anyway?"

Before any of the three could voice their thought, Feedler interjected, "Wisely, your silence would be appreciated." And Wisely caught fishiness flying in the air.

"We are waiting for everyone to come to do the presentations." Road said, a small smile on her face that did nothing but add oil on fire.

" _Those two_ are going to take forever to get down, look even Lulubell is wondering who those are." Wisely lamented, trying to get something out of them.

The previously silent blonde woman finally opened her mouth to spew harsh words and hard glares. "Do not meddle my name in you rubbish talk."

And that made the young girl giggle innocently, "That was harsh Lulu, and don't deny, what Wise said is true."

"Road." Lulubell said –if glares could kill, Road would've been dead long ago.

Slowly waving his hands, Mercym begged, "Now children, let your aunt be."

"Why are you reprimanding my cute children, Mercym? To my knowledge Lulubell is the constipated person here who cannot understand children's humor." Sheryl suddenly said, making Feedler sigh, knowing what was going to ensue.

Tryde warned the man next to him, "Know your limits with your sister, Sheryl." But the blonde did not like his interference, avoiding his eyes.

"I can stand for myself Tryde, there is no need for your meddling."

"Lulubell is curious, curious, very curious and constipated!" the twins echoed, laughing. And the blonde snapped her head toward them.

Before the situation could worsen any further, Adam spoke, "Now children is this a way to speak in front of your guests?"

Kanda noted the power the Earl had on everyone but the sudden change of atmosphere.

"It was Wise who started." Devit snickered, taking advantage of the situation to clear himself and his brother.

"Wise did, Wise did!"

"All I did is speak my mind, my aunts and uncles are the ones who have no sense of humor." Wisely defended, and Road confirmed, nodding.

"My brother is right, Earl."

Feedler then made an announcement to shut everyone once and for all. "Everyone, keep quiet or there will be no sweets tonight!"

Skin's face suddenly changed, anger written all over it, "No sweets? You can't! You can't!" he said, hitting the table with his fists.

"Well, if Road and Wisely don't stay quiet there will be none." Feedler clarified, and the muscular man frowned at his nephew and nieces, who automatically complied.

"I shut up." Wisely said raising both hands, surrendering, and his sister mimicked, "Same~"

A smile succeeded Skin's frown as he nodded. Once again, the doors flew open, revealing two handsome men.

"Honestly boy, you never stop to amaze me." The tall, black haired man said, as they walked across the room.

"I did nothing amazing, it is you who is talentless, Tyki." The white haired young man stated flatly.

"Ouch! You've hurt my feelings." Said Tyki hit his chest for dramatic effect, to which the other rolled his eyes.

"You? Feelings? Honestly you're being too sarcastic tonight." He snorts.

But before Tyki could retort, Sheryl called out, "Brother!" and Tyki's features squeaked, while Road was already on her feet, bouncing toward the white haired young man.

"Allen!" She said, jumping on him and happily locking her lips with his. Lavi and his friends looked at the unfolding scene agape. Tyki ignored his relatives kissing and walked to his seat, waving at everyone with a smile.

Tryde was the first to speak, "It was about time."

"Happy to see you too, brother." Tyki shook his head.

Then Wisely complained, "What took you two so long?"

"A shower did." Tyki said smugly.

"Oh, _a shower_? As in one single shower?" Road, who finally let go of Allen, giggled as she took his hand to drag him to the table.

Tyki smirked, "Who knows."

"Tyki stop talking rubbish and Road, what did I tell you about kissing me like this?" Allen said, frowning, but not letting go of the girl's hand.

"But I love you, Allen~!" she pouted, kissed his cheek, to finally bounce back to her seat.

A furious Sheryl pointed an accusatory finger toward the white haired man who was taking a seat. "Allen! How dare you do this to my daughter! This is called sexual assault."

"What did I even do? She is the one who assaulted me. I think you need a new pair of glasses." Allen defended, narrowing his eyes in annoyance.

The twins being the twins couldn't hold themselves from commenting. "Sheryl is blind." They echoed, "Stupid and blind, stupid and blind!" to which almost everyone at the table laughed.

"Everyone please!" the Earl sighed.

"I really missed this." Tyki said, looking at his family, as the servants finally started to serve dinner. And then he laid his eyes on the trio, and raised a brow, "Were we expecting guests today?"

"Yes we were." Adam cleared his throat, "Children let me introduce you to Lavi Bookman and his two friends Kanda Yu and Lenalee Lee."

It was until the moment everyone sitting at the table gazed at them, that Lavi felt the pressure of the situation –as if he wasn't used to crowds–, and all he could say was a simple _hello._ Next to him Lenalee was more reactive and smiled, "It is nice to meet you."

Kanda, however, nodded in acknowledgment only.

A pregnant silence followed, one that Lavi did not understand clearly. Then Wisely decided to break the ice, "Bookman? As in…"

"Yes." Adam answered, avoiding everyone's gaze. "He is the late Bookman's grandson."

"What?" Lulubell found herself saying, resting her eyes on the earl and finally admitting her curiosity.

A nervous laugh slipped of Tyki's tongue, "Grandson –no wait, _late?_ " it sounded, almost, _accusatory._

"Bookman died?" despite his tone, Wisely was not asking a question.

Lavi had probably never felt more offended in his entire life, not even when he was soaked wet with water thrown at him by his adversary's client at a trial. He felt his jaw crisping, anger flowing through his veins and reaching his brain. If it wasn't for Lenalee calling for him and asking him to chill, the redhead would've probably wreaked havoc in the room.

"Children, that is impolite. Please introduce yourselves first." Adam said, escaping gracefully through the hanging questions of his children. There was a pause, then names began to be unfolded.

"Tryde." The man sitting on the right side of the earl said, nodding.

Across of him, Tyki said, smiling, "I'm Tyki, nice to meet you."

"We've met twice, you should have learned it by now." Sheryl sighed, raising his chin. And at that exact moment all that Kanda was thinking was to mercilessly kill him.

"Wisely, nice to meet you, I guess?" the white haired said, unsure of his words.

"Feedler, remember?"

"Mercym."

Road grinned, "We've already met, but once again, I'm the cute _Road~_ "

"I'm Devit and he's –" he said, holding his twin's hand in the air, and the blond continued, "Jasedero, and together we are –" then they finished in unison, "Jasedevi!"

The blonde woman across of the twins, sipped her wine and said, not sparing the trio a glance. "I'm Lulubell."

"Allen, pleased to meet you." the second white haired man of the family said, smiling.

"And those are Skinn and Mightra." Adam said pointing with open hands at the big man who was eating a sweet and a bizarre person whose face was hidden underneath a hood. Then smiled, "A big family, I know."

"And for what reason did they fall here out of all places?" Tyki asked, then tucked a spoon of soup into his mouth. Nothing was better than a fish soup in such cold weather.

With a wide smile, Lenalee answered instead of her friend, who was still wrathful. "We were invited for the party."

The second spoon of soup stopped at his mouth, and Tyki repeated, as if to confirm what he had heard. "Party?"

"Yes, the party which will be held here next week." However what met her innocent statement were twisted faces and furrowed eyebrows full of disbelief and curiosity.

Wisely was the first one who spoke; his question directed to the Noah in charge of such events. "We are having a party next week?"

"Don't look at me," Tryde's voice echoed amidst the sudden silence, "first time hearing this."

"Wait, wait, wait. Since when do we host parties?" Tyki inquired.

"Party?" Devit and Jasedero exchanged looks, "Party?"

"This is news to me." Lulubell declared, as she notified a maid to refill her glass with liquor.

"Aren't they perhaps in the wrong address?" Mercym remarked, as if the thought of a party was out of question.

Skin was the only person with an innocent question, "Will there be sweets?" which was obviously ignored.

Road cleared her throat; "Since everyone was busy we were not able to notify you."

"Busy how, please? We're always home doing nothing." Wisely snorted.

" _Wisely."_ Feedler called out, "I told you to keep quiet, haven't I?"

"But wait," Allen said, locking his eyes with Adam's, "In a week it will be…"

The sudden enlightenment that Allen's statement provided made the room freeze in time and fall into a deep silence; the eyes of the Noahs all directed to the Earl.

The presence of the maids serving the various dishes was forgotten –no, _ignored._ Kanda wondered if any of those people ever acknowledged their servants; apparently, Sheryl was not the only one with a sickening attitude.

Kanda had not noticed Wisely holding his breath, Lulubell's grip tightening around the glass, nor Mercym gritting his teeth, but he, undoubtedly, took grasp of the sight of Mightra's hand that travelled towards Allen's to squeeze it.

"Yes, it will be the twenty-fifth anniversary of Adam becoming the Earl," Road declared, then turned her head toward Tryde, as if she was asking him to support her statement, "Right?"

And the latter could only mutter, "… _Right."_

* * *

Despite the tension at the beginning of dinner, the rest of it went on smoothly, and Lavi somehow managed to accept the rudeness of his hosts when he noticed that they had the same attitude even toward each other. The food served was scrumptious, and noting the delighted figures of the guests, Feedler had revealed that the cook was a decorated chef. Dinner went on, topics of discussion varied, and changed every two minutes as each one of the hosts took part in speaking their mind; sometimes small, and not so innocent words quickly transformed the table into a chaotic warfare that the Earl dissolved effortlessly.

It was later in the evening, after having cheesecake for dessert that both hosts and guests took their leave to a modest living room, which rested next to the dining room.

Tea and cookies were served. Adam took a seat on the armchair near the burning chimney and took pleasure in knitting. The other scattered all around the room; Lavi sat next to Kanda –it was a reflex due to the Japanese's frequent outbursts that Lavi had to physically stop. Road, Wisely and Skin made themselves comfortable on the same sofa and, without missing a heartbeat, started consuming sweets in an unhealthy way. Lulubell had taken refuge in her tea and the soothing company of Feedler, while the twins were leaning on each other, one teasing the other. The hooded person named Mightra was isolated in the back of the room on an armchair with a book in hands. Sheryl, Mercym and Tryde sat across of Lavi and Kanda and started to discuss about cars; in spite of his repulsing attitude, Sheryl had a very good taste in car, Lavi noted.

Tyki, whose ebony hair fell like cascades on his face, had his back facing the window as he smoked a cigarette. He watched as the green haired young woman walked toward Allen, and smirked.

"Allen, right?" Lenalee said, flashing a smile to the white haired man who was running a hand through the books on the gigantic bookcase.

Turning his head toward the voice calling for him, Allen flashed back a polite smile, "Miss Lenalee." He acknowledged, nodding.

"Lenalee is fine," She chuckled, blushing faintly, "I was wondering if you could suggest me a novel to read at night. I haven't brought any with me, and you seemed to be the best person to ask." As she wavered her fingers in the direction of the bookcase.

"It would be my pleasure." He spoke as his hand went back to its deed, "But I'd like you to specify me a genre. You seem to like rom-coms, no?"

"I'm actually more inclined toward mysteries and thrillers." Lenalee corrected, tilting her head to the side, and Allen let out a soft hum.

"I would've never guessed."

"Because I look like a softie?"

"Because you _are_ a softie."

"You don't know me."

"That's true, but I can tell."

"You're a funny guy." She commented, smiling.

"Thank you for the compliment."

But before Lenalee could take their conversation further, a third party joined them.

"I am sorry little lady," Tyki interrupted, bringing Allen closer to him as he put his hand on his shoulder, "But this lad here is mine"

It took Lenalee a moment, then her face went through the different shades of red. The gaze of everyone in the room was now on them.

"I-I-I'm…s-sorry, it wasn't my i-intention!" she said, distressed, as her eyes went from Allen to Tyki. The next moment, laughter echoed through the room, while Kanda and Lavi comprehended nothing.

Road giggled, holding her tummy, "You're so gay for Allen, Tyki." To which the twins snickered, "Tyki's gay, so gay!"

"Well, the boy has undeniably attractive looks." Tyki lifted a shoulder, smiling.

Then Wisely added smugly, "And a fine arse too."

"His personality is quiet sordid, though." Mercym pointed out, earning a frown from the white haired.

"It can be remedied."

"I can quite view him in bed, naked and flushed; a masterpiece, I swear." Road beamed, throwing a candy in her mouth.

And Sheryl added, not helping at all, "I can picture Tyki; oh, so perfect!" the disturbing images he had in mind made him nosebleed, making the guests jerk in disgust. Next to him, Tryde sighed as he handed him a white handkerchief.

"Can you all stop undressing me with your eyes, please? Furthermore, leave my single arse alone." Allen barked, irritated, shoving Tyki's hand off him.

Wisely snorted, "Poor Tyki, you were harshly rejected."

Tyki smiled and gently stroked Allen's white locks, then made his way toward the sofa to take a seat next to Lavi, "Don't worry about it, I will easily make him change his mind. I always do." He turned his head and winked, "Right, Allen?"

"Feedler please remind me to lock my door tonight," Allen shook his head as he handed to book to the green haired young woman, and then tilted his chin toward the empty sofa, asking her to join him.

The two walked as the family continued commenting on Tyki and Allen's situation –much to the dislike of the white haired young man.

"Tyki-pon, you can't do that!" Adam debated, putting the knitting kit on his knees. Lavi thought that the voice of reason had finally spoken, and profoundly thanked the Gods.

"You have to leave him some personal space and accept his reluctance. Don't force it; Allen will come by himself toward you."

 _'_ _What the fuck!'_ Kanda suppressed the urge to voice his thoughts.

Road balled her hands together to her chest, "That was so poetic, Earl!"

"Your words have touched me deeply." Tyki mused, raising his cup of tea, and Allen whined,

"Earl! You too?!"

The laughter that echoed did nothing but make the situation even… _odder._

"Um," Lavi said, not sure if it was the right thing to do, as he looked back and forth from Allen to Tyki. "Aren't you two… brothers?"

"Brothers?" Sheryl furrowed his brows, the idea almost repulsing him.

The Earl put a hand on his cheek, surprised. "Oh right, silly me! I haven't properly introduced everyone. Allen is actually my nephew… my late brother's son, whereas Road and Wisely are my grandchildren. The others are my children."

Even if the situation was cleared, in Lavi's point of view it was still awkward. "Ah… I see."

Allen sighed, handing Lenalee the plate of cookies, "Stop teasing, you guys. You've made it awkward with our guests."

"Oh no, don't worry man, we don't judge! Kanda's bi, so…" the redhead defended when he felt that his words offended Allen. And Kanda growled.

"Shut the fuck up, stupid rabbit!"

"Kanda!" Lenalee called out, taken aback by her friend's choice of words. Honestly, those two never made it easy for her.

"Oh my." Road muttered behind the palm of her hand.

What followed that outburst was, however, more comical than anything that could have happened that evening. A smirking blonde Lulubell extended her hand toward a shocked Feedler who, reluctantly, handed her money he took out of his pocket.

"I can't believe you got it right, Lulu. He doesn't seem like a person who swings both ways." He said, looking at the long gone money.

"Never doubt women's instincts."

Lenalee hushed a giggle and Lavi stared at the dumbfounded before exploding in laughter, "I can't believe they made a bet on your sexual orientation, Yu!"

"What the fuck?!"

"How many times did I tell you to stop making such bets, Lulu-chan?" the Earl reprimanded as everyone else in the room exploded in laughter.

"My apologies, Earl, but a hundred pounds were at stake." She said, not meaning her apologies, as she fanned herself with the money in hand. A triumphant look adorning her face.

"That said," Allen joined, sipping his tea, "He's got a body to die for. Lucky those who had him in bed."

Hands on their chins, Tyki, Road and Wisely nodded, approving of their cousin's statement, making Kanda enraged than ever.

"Shut up or I'll fucking kill you, moyashi!" he hissed, a vein popping in his forehead.

"I beg your pardon, but I am no bean sprout! That was quite offending, if I dare say!" Allen retorted back, annoyance evident in his tone.

While the two kept on bickering, Lavi threw Lenalee a surprised look, and mouthed her, _'He understands Japanese!'_

"Like I care, stupid moyashi."

And as usual, Wisely made his entrance, worsening the situation. "Allen made a new friend, how unusual." He said elbowing his sister who giggled.

"I'd rather have you take that back, Wise, I am not to degrade of myself and befriend a _jerKanda_ like him."

"I'm going to fucking kill you now!" Kanda threatened as he got up from his seat and Lavi threw himself on his friend to stop him from executing his words, "Kanda, chill!"

"You seem to be enjoying yourself, Allen-pon, but please refrain from insulting out guests." Adam noted, making his nephew freeze in place.

"Y-yes, of course Earl."

"I'd say that Allen was praising him rather than insulting." Tyki corrected, but his words were met by even harsher words.

"That's enough, Tyki." Escaping the gaze of Adam, Tyki cleared his throat and lighted a cigarette.

Lavi had taken notice of the sudden change in the atmosphere. It felt like that cliché scene of when you are at your friend's house and they get yelled at by their parents, and all you can do is sit, silently, hoping for the ground to crack open and swallow you toward Satan.

"Right, I saw a picture hung on the wall of the Hall, whose picture is it?" Lavi asked, hoping to make a light hearted conversation.

"Oh, yes," Adam responded simply, "It is a picture of my late father."

"The previous Earl Campbell?" Lenalee asked, understanding her friend's intent.

"No, the previous earl is my late maternal uncle. My father's last name was Noah, he became part of the Campbell family when he married my mother, Katerina Eve Campbell. This is why my name is Adam Campbell Noah."

Seeing that the situation had calmed down a little, Lavi innocently pushed further with his questions, "Your uncle had no children?"

At those words, the Earl stopped his deed, and rested his knitting kit on the low table next to him; everyone had gone uncomfortably silent, the burning chimney was the only sound that occupied the room.

"He did." He sighed, "He did."

"Did?"Automatically, Lavi repeated, but regretted his word soon after.

"They all died." A shiver ran down the trio's spines.

"On one unfortunate summer day, when the entire family, namely, my grandmother, my uncle, his wife and children, and my two other aunts, their husbands and children, were in the manor's chapel praying, a sudden fire swallowed the place." Adam narrated, his eyes lost in the horizon, perceiving nothing but the emptiness that hollowed his heart. "The reasons behind that fire are still unknown; the local police classed the case as an accident caused by natural factors. My… brothers and I were sick that day, and mother had stayed behind to take care of us, if it wasn't for that, we would have also died that day."

Gentle rain drops falling were heard, slowly turning into harsh and sharp rocks. A cold wind slipped through the ajar window,

"I am sorry to hear about this; it must've been hard for you." Lavi muttered, emotions whirling in his heart.

"We were teenagers at that time, still living naively, running in the gold swath… perhaps, that incident was the reason why our family was…" but his sentence was never finished.

"But we are happy now." Road interjected through the silence, "We are a big happy family now. Nothing can tear us apart, nothing."

As the antique wooden clock's pendulum cried midnight, a lightening stroke, and the light of its electric discharge penetrated the room. Lavi jerked; it was only at that moment that he noticed the cold weather that reigned in the room.

"Midnight," Tyki mused admits the silence as he walked over to close the window, "The strange mystic hour, when the veil between the frail present and the eternal future grows thins."

"Saying something like that won't make you sound cool, you know." Tryde finally spoke after his long silence, earning a smirk from Tyki.

"Tyki's a stupid wannabe!" Devit snorted with Jasedero echoing behind him, "Wannabe, wannabe!"

"Are you sure you aren't some kind of clown?" Mercym smiled.

The ebony haired man took a deep breath in his cigarette then declared, his lips lifting into an eerie smile. "Of course not. Nobody likes a clown at midnight."

Wisely got up and outstretched his limbs, "Please, drop dead."

"Such a loving nephew!"

"I guess it is bed time." Adam said, ignoring his children, and turned toward Allen. "Allen since your room is near our guests', will you accompany them?"

"Surely, Earl. Your wish is my command." Allen smiled, got up and the trio did the same.

In the low light of the room, Lavi could distinguish fatigue on the features of their guests, _emotional fatigue_.

"Well then our dear guests, we wish you a good night sleep."

The trio excused themselves for the night and followed Allen; he had first went to exchanged few silent words with Mightra, who had not even once joined them in talking, before exiting the room

The corridors were dimly lighted by hanged torches; the walk was silent. Both guests and host were tired to speak; moreover, none of them knew what to exactly say. Remembering the book she had in hands, Lenalee turned it over to see what Novel she was given by Allen.

 _Needful Things,_ by Stephen King.

Despite being a book person, Lenalee had read only one book by King in her childhood and it was _It_ ; it was probably that novel that made of her the horror and occult lover she was today, but it was also funny how she did not read any other King work. She had to admit that Allen had quite the taste. She flipped open the first pages and started reading, _« I have heard of many going astray even in the village streets, when the darkness was so thick you could cut it with a knife, as the saying is...»_

And then she remembered, "Ah, right! I was meaning to ask," she said, hurrying in her pace to catch up with Allen after closing the book. "I was speaking earlier with my brother, but the line got cut and the calls weren't passing. Is the signal that bad here?"

Allen pouted, pensive, "To be honest, there is practically no signal in the manor."

"What? How am I going to contact my brother?"

"Her brother is a sis-con; he would go on a rampage if he doesn't speak with her at least five times a day." Lavi snickered from behind; a sis-con that would gladly cross the world if his sister did not pick up.

"Well, you can use the main phone of the manor which is the only one to work, and you might've noticed that the ones in your rooms are out of service. Unlike the village, the manor is situated in the woods, and since we don't have much contact with the outside world, the Earl deemed it unnecessary to fix it."

"And how do you live like this? I mean, no phones, no television, no internet? How is that even possible man?"

"We've grown used to it, we don't have any use for that kind of things. Maybe it is weird to you because for you those are essential life materials, whereas for us they are of no use. The noise and vivacity of the cities are unbearable to me; whenever I go there I get sick."

Lenalee pondered, frowning, "Do you never get bored? There is practically nothing to do here."

A glimpse of enthusiast was caught in his eyes as he spoke of his favorite exercises, "On the very contrary, there are many activities, like fishing, hunting, gardening, relaxing, meditating, reading, playing music, riding on the horses, playing games with my family etc."

"I feel like you're a character from the eighteenth century. It's interesting." The green haired young lady giggled, hugging the book.

"You mean boring," Kanda said, clicking his tongue.

"Shut up, Yu, don't act like this. I know that deep down you enjoy these activities too, well save from playing games with family." Lavi pointed out, then caught up with Allen, leaving Kanda behind. "Hey, Al did you know? Kanda actually hates playing board games because he sucks at them and always ends up losing, moreover, he's a sore loser!"

"Don't you know what shutting the fuck up means? If you continue I will kill you." He growled from behind them; killing intent spreading from him like sunrays.

"Really?" Allen hummed, eyeing Kanda from the corner of his eyes, "I'd like to hear more about that, but unfortunately we've arrived." He stopped in his tracks and smiled at his guests.

"Wanna stay up with us a bit more?" Lavi offered, thinking of playing cards, while laughing over their lame jokes like he used to do with his friends.

"I'd have to decline, it's past midnight already and I am a morning person."

"You're no fun, Al!"

Allen was taken aback by the sudden informality Lavi was beaming, but decided not to comment on it. "Another time, perhaps."

"By the way, the Earl said you room is near to ours; where is it?" Lenalee asked out of sudden.

Allen paused for a moment, "The last room down this corridor." Then quickly excused himself before anymore questions were asked, "Good night everyone."

"Good night." Lavi and Lenalee said in unison while Kanda entered his room without saying a word. "Please excuse his boldness, it's just his character."

But Allen, deep down, did not care less about him or the other two guests, he simply wished for them to leave the manor as soon as possible, because he was sure their stay was going to cause a lot of damage to the manor's peaceful life.

The gray-haired young man simply smiled, and left.

* * *

Tyki raised a brow upon noticing who was standing by the door of his bedroom.

"Miss me already?" he said playfully, standing in front of the blonde, who seemed to be in a bad temper. "See? I was right. You're unable to survive without me beside you."

"What are you trying to accomplish?" Lulubell asked, anger apparent in her tone.

"Getting Allen in my bed." Tyki shrugged, a smirk adorning his face and despite the dim place, Lulubell was able to see it.

"Don't play around with me," she spat, gritting her teeth as she brought her slender body closer to Tyki's, who had used that opening to run his hand through her long blonde lock, "You know that I hate these silly games of yours." Lulubell continued.

"But you love them when we are alone, don't you?" he whispered against her ear; his cigarette smelling breath tickled her naked neck.

Lulubell cursed under her breath; she had known it from the beginning, there was no way she could run away from his electrifying grips.

Despite everything that had happened between them, despite every reason that should make her hate him, Lulubell knew that her every limb was tightly tied to him with transparent chains; rusted, filthy and sinful chains adorned with passion and desire.

Despite everything, she would do anything to be between his loving arms that would later on break her to tiny pieces.

"Stop denying," he whispered, smacking her to the wall. His hand was caressing her petite form, as he ornamented her neck with feathery kisses that burned her fair skin. "You want me."

He was right. Tyki was always right, she wanted him.

Lulubell will always want him and no one else, despite being the person who broke her most.

Her closed eyes and quickened breath was the only permission he needed; Tyki brought his face closer and brushed his lips against hers first, as if to confirm that she was real. That the Lulubell, who he had forcefully pushed away and torn apart, was truly between his hands once again.

Slowly and tenderly their lips crushed, and their senses awoke.

It was a euphoric feeling that felt right despite being so wrong.

Their lips played sensually a delirium song that took them to a completely different world; she griped him tightly, as the kiss dangerously deepened and his lecherous hands ran on her body .

This was a lie, they both knew it, but it did not stop them. Even if in the morning they would say how wrong doing it was, they both knew how hard they wanted and needed this.

This _thing_ was lethal to both of them.

Lulubell knew that Tyki's carnal senses were finally awaken when the kisses became rougher, more intense, more hungry… there was no backing down now. But then a voice interrupted them.

"Seeing something like this after midnight reminds me of my nonexistent love life," Wisely said as he emerged from the darkness, taking the two by surprise, "and sex life, too."

While Tyki was unfazed by the interruption, Lulubell, on the other hand, roughly pushed him away from her.

"What are you doing here, Wise?" she spat, breathing with difficulty.

"Took Skin to his room, and now going to mine." He answered flatly as he continued to walk toward them, eyes going back and forth from Tyki to Lulubell.

Lulubell's entire body was failing her, and she knew if she did not leave that place right now, she would lose it.

"I warned you, Tyki! You better stop that, or you will pay for it." Lulubell warned –more like threatened– Tyki one last time before she stormed out of the scene.

Wisely stopped in front of Tyki, and with much disdain, could not read the eyes of his uncle. Running a hand through his hair, he uttered, unfazed,

"I think it's our punishment to be infatuated with our sisters."

"Perhaps, it is. But we love to sin, don't we?" Tyki said, and then sighed, reaching for a cigarette to light. "Women are truly a handful."

"I beg to differ, you're a jerk. That's why."

"That's true." Tyki smirked, then seriousness took over his features. "By the way Wise, has Road told you anything on our guests and that so called party?"

"No, why are you asking though?"

"Don't play it dumb with me, we both know that something happened, the others must've noticed too. There is _no way in hell_ that we host a party, let alone on _that_ day."

He looked at Wisely in the eyes, no feelings apparent. "On that tragic day when we all _died_."

* * *

Mimi took out her personal set of keys and started looking for the study building's key. She cursed under her breath the many keys she had; that cursed manor had too many damn locks.

When she finally found the right one, Mimi let out an exasperated sigh; she was no tired before even starting her work. She walked across the hall covered with books, and climbed the stairs one by one. Entering the study, which she had opened with the key provided by Road, Mimi sighed at the disaster in front of her.

The entire desk was ravaged; scattered papers, broken glass frames, carpet dirtied with Chinese anchor, etc. Mimi sighed again; it was going to be a long night.

It had been a while since the Earl's last violent outburst.

For many years now, the Earl's mental health had been growing worse; she did not know when it happened, but she was told on one night by a drunk Lulubell that it all started after the death of his brother fifteen years ago.

Mimi was taken into the Campbell household only ten year ago; thus she ignored many of the events that happened before that, but over the years, she had grown into a trusted maid that Lulubell adored, and Road relied on. As if now, Mimi was involved more in the secrets of the manor more than any other servant, and she was doing her best to keep her position.

Mimi walked toward the small furniture that displayed the antique firearm that the Campbell Earls inherited generation after generation. She contemplated the weapon and reached for it to hold it. It wasn't the first time she was seeing it, nor holding it, but every time her eyes laid on it, uneasiness tightened her heart, spreading fear into her bone.

It was only when she looked up, that Mimi noticed that the curtains were open, and her gaze locked with a pair of onyx eyes. Despite the heavy rain, Mimi recognized the person on the building across of her as the Japanese guest who came today. She gently put back the firearm in its rightful place to roughly close the red curtains.

* * *

When the Chinese young woman opened her eyes, going to the toilet was the first thing that crossed her mind. Ever since she was born, Lenalee was said to have a narrow urinary bladder; thus, she had the inability to hold herself for too long and had to expel her biologic liquids as soon as she had an urge. She took a look at the wooden, antique clock, which harbored roman numbers and let out a soft grown at the time.

What Lenalee hated most was waking up before dawn to go to the toilet, because her beauty sleep would be disturbed. Getting out of bed, the green haired young woman took out her dressing gown from the closet and made her way out of the room.

Lenalee was content that her door made no creaking sound; the silent corridor was pitch black, there was not even an ounce of moonlight. She walked in a quiet and hurried pace, illuminating her way with her phone-torch; if she remembered well, the maid had said that the restroom was on one of the left turnings down the corridor. Lenalee poked her head at the first turning and saw a dead end with two condemned doors, and so she continued her walk and took the second turning, which she believed was the right one. The walls were covered with medieval tapestries that depicted the War of the Roses; Lenalee walked, never taking her eyes off the walls until she, unknowingly, found herself climbing down stone stairs that led her to a bizarre corridor.

It was a long corridor which walls were all covered with glass; on each of the dead ends stood a fine piece of sculpture. The one on the right depicted a Greek woman in tears who had her own heart in hands, while the one facing it was the sculpture of a repulsing chimera. There, in that immense corridor was one single wooden door; an ajar door with light escaping from it.

A shiver ran down her spin; Lenalee knew it, she was lost.

The sane part of her mind had requested to leave the place and go search for the toilet, but the stubborn one was demanding to go investigate the place. The pain down her stomach was getting worse by the minute, and she did not know what to do any longer.

Deciding to live the moment, she let go of the last bits of sanity she had and walked toward the ajar door. Lenalee poked her head through the door, and was met with a lightened room empty of human presence. She turned off her phone torch and examined the room.

It was a beautiful Victorian bedroom with a king-sized canopy bed with crimson curtains, with two nightstands on both sides. A wooden wardrobe stood on the right, and a dressing table on the far left extremity near the door. Lenalee walked in, nervous; the night lights on the nightstands were turned on. The room was tidy, nothing unusual about it; the green haired approached the wardrobe and opened it only to find clothes hanged. The drawers of the nightstands contained few meaningless items that she did not bother to go through, then she travelled toward the dressing table.

There, lying, as if asking to be picked, was a leather copybook with the initials, _K.E.C,_ carved on it. It was a diary, but when she was about to open it a monotone voice called from behind, scaring the Chinese young girl, who jerked.

"What are you doing here?"

Quickly Lenalee hid the copybook under her dressing gown and turned around to face the unexpected guest, only to discover the most handsome man of the family. "You scared me." Lenalee said, letting out a sigh of relief.

"What are you doing here?" he asked once again, running his medieval bronze torch around the room, as if to inspect it.

"I—" at that moment, Lenalee felt really silly to admit it out loud, "Got lost."

The man with golden eyes let out a long suspicious hum, then outstretched his free hand toward the door, silently requesting her to leave. Lenalee hurriedly walked out of the room, avoiding the piercing eyes of that handsome man, whom she had forgotten the name. Well, no one is able to remember the names of fourteen people from the first meeting after all.

After he had turned off the night lights, and slowly closed the creaky, wooden door, he stood for a moment analyzing the young woman from head to toe. The green haired wished under her breath that he had not took notice of the missing diary on the dressing table and she slightly trembled when his eyes landed on hers.

What she felt was something indescribable; a merge of fright and excitement that ran through her skin like small needles. That man's gaze was captivating, and his deep voice…hypnotizing.

"How did you get in this room?" he asked, not moving an inch from his place. Lenalee brought her hands together as if to master her powers to stand up to that man's sweltering presence.

"The door was opened." She said with confidence; that's right, there was no need to be frightened, she had done nothing wrong –aside from taking the diary– she earnestly got lost in that maze-like manor. "I was on my way to the restroom, but I got lost and stumbled in here."

He suspiciously narrowed his eyes, then simply said as he started to walk away. "Follow me."

Perplex, Lenalee did as told.

She walked silently behind him, contemplating his firm back. At that exact moment Lenalee felt that she was seeing another side of the personality of that bizarre and handsome man who rejoiced the dinner table earlier in the evening. He walked noiselessly, the burning flame of the torch being the prevailing sound in that black, engulfing path.

"We've arrived," he said as he stopped by a door, and Lenalee raised a brow. She was too deep in her thoughts that she had not realized where they were going. "The toilet." He added when he saw her questioning look.

"Right." She answered shyly, hurrying inside. Turning on the lights of the restroom, Lenalee looked at her reflection on the mirror, then let out a silent sigh.

However, she had not imagined that the moment she went out of the restroom she would face him once again. Lenalee stayed immobilized for few moments then said, "Shall we go, then?"

"Wait a minute." He said as he dangerously approached the young woman; her body reacted to the man who was few inches away. His breath tickled her cheeks, whereas his perfume invaded all her senses; taken by the moment, Lenalee shut her eyes tightly.

A second passed, then another, then another…nothing had happened, and all she heard was a soft click.

When she had opened her eyes, the man was back to where he stood. "You had left the door open." He noted, "I'd like you to know that closing the doors is a must. The Earl dislikes seeing unnecessarily opened or ajar doors."

A sudden heat grew in Lenalee's cheeks; how in the world did she imagine that something indecent would happen between her and that man? She felt her heart stinging, but she wasn't sure if it was from relief or deception.

Her room happened to be nearer than expected from the bathroom; because of this, Lenalee was now more resolved than ever to memorize every way she would need to know.

"Thank you for everything, mister…err…." Lenalee said, stuttering and cursing herself for not remembering his name, as they both stood by the door of her room.

"Tyki," he corrected, smiling, "Tyki Mikk Noah, and you can drop the formalities."

The smiling face of Tyki was beautiful, Lenalee noted. It was not one of those smiled he had on his face earlier that evening, it was a smile that felt…earnest and kind.

"Good night, young girl." Tyki declared as he started to walk away without waiting for her to respond.

Still blushing, Lenalee shouted sotto voce, "Good night, _Tyki!_ "

Soon enough, the walking figure of him disappeared from sight; Lenalee quietly entered her room and walked to her bed. Taking off her dressing gown, she pulled out the diary she had hidden under the elastic of her pants.

Taking a deep breath, the green haired young woman opened the diary. On the first page was written with ink, _Katrina Eve Campbell._

Bingo, she had put her hands on a lead.

There happened to be several torn pages in the middle of the diary, but that did not faze Lenalee because those memories, which were forcefully taken out, will be easily discovered. Suddenly, a small paper slipped out from in-between the pages; bending to grab it, she noticed that it was a picture of two black haired boys smiling and on its back was hand-written, _Mana and Nea._

Her resolve to start reading the diary right away was crushed by the intense yawning she had. Lenalee caressed the diary one last time before hiding it between her clothes that she arranged in the room's closet, and quickly went under her blankets.

Unbeknown to her, the diary she had held dearly in her frail feminine hands contained secrets meant to stay buried forever.

* * *

 **Diary of the Dead**

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand guess who's back with a new chapter? :D**

 **Hello again and thank you for reading! The story is finally progressing and everyone (almost) was introduced. Ah writing this chapter was so much fun, even if took me a long time to finish.**

 **I have so much to say, but i suddenly lost all my words XD if you guys have any questions, feel free to ask!**

 _"Midnight, the strange mystic hour, when the veil between the frail present and the eternal future grows thins." -Harriet Stowe._

 _"Nobody likes a clown at midnight." -Stephen King._

 **Needful Things is the first novel of King i've ever read (when i was thirteen), and by far my favorite. I suggest it to every horror novels lovers in here!**

 **That said, a big thank you to everyone who liked, followed and reviewed.**

 **See you guys next chapter!**


	3. Third Secret - Broken Dollhouse

**Disclaimer: D. Gray-Man belongs to Katsura Hoshino, this is a work of fanfiction, not for profit.**

 **Theme Song: Three Days Grace - Pain**

 **Warning: Physical abuse, self-harm and suicidal thoughts.**

 **Also, I suck at poker...**

* * *

 **Third Secret**

The sun was peeking through the clouds.

In the Campbell estate, seeing the sun was a rare thing; so rare that Allen was blinded when he saw it.

The white haired young man was walking down the hall of the dining room, heading to the Earl's study.

Allen Noah was a fine young man who excelled in many fields, such as business, and art. Despite being in his mid-twenties, Allen's height did not equal his age, and it was considered to be a _funny thing_ by his family members who often enjoyed teasing him about. His hair was snow white colored; unlike popular belief, it was not dyed, and unlike Wisely, it was not his natural color, but, in fact, the result of a trauma that he experienced in his childhood. That white hair was not the only physical imprint, there was something _else_ , something _more_ , something _despised_ , something _hideous_ …a blood colored scar down his left eye given to him by his own _father_.

Remembering the past was something Allen disliked, there was nothing to be nostalgic about; there were only few moments of it that were worth remembering, that were actual _happy_ moments. Despite everything that had happened, Allen blamed no one, hated no one; his time might have frozen since _that_ day, but he lived on as if no burden was weighting on his shoulders. Everything was fine, everything went on smoothly for years, however…

 _However…_

In a week there would be a party held in the manor. On that fateful day–

"Come on in." Adam's firm voice echoed from behind the wooden door that Allen had unconsciously knocked.

Too lost in thoughts, the young Noah had not realized that he had already arrived to destination. It was approximately nine-thirty in the morning; Allen had woken up a little bit late than usual –and that because of staying up late thinking of the three guests and what brought them to the manor. He had washed, taken a small walk in the woods, and then had breakfast in the unusual company of Lulubell. The blonde woman seemed to be in a quite bad mood. Allen deduced that it might had something to do with last night's events, and so he decided to try and brighten her mood a little, despite knowing that it could cause his death.

Weirdly, he had managed to take a small laugh out of her before the arrival of a beaming Feedler and a passive Skinn. Their breakfast went on normal, as if nothing weird was happening around them; they chatted, except for Skinn, and ate, enjoying each other's company. Breakfast was perhaps all of the Noahs' favorite time of the day; it was the time when they could be the most of themselves without having to hide behind a mask.

Just as Allen put down his empty cup of tea, Mimi was standing by him and way before she had to utter those words, Allen knew what it was about.

" _The Earl summoned you. He is waiting in the study."_

Allen entered the room. Adam was sitting at his desk, a book in hands; he didn't move an inch when his nephew came closer. "Sit." He ordered in a tone that sent shivers down the younger's spine. And he sat.

"How was your trip?" The Earl inquired, lifting his eyes to meet Allen's.

"Pleasant, though the constant bickering of Tyki was quite a handful." He said, forcing a smile.

"Oh yes, Tyki." He said, as if he forgot Tyki's very existence. "It must have been hard to keep up with him."

"I got used to it through the years."

The Earl hummed, taking off the square glasses he only wore when reading. He joined his hands under his chin and silently watched Allen, judging him, condemning him, _punishing_ him…

The long silence was ponderous on Allen; silence was something he did not like. He played with his fingers in his lap, turning both thumbs around each other while trying to maintain a small smile. He did not know what he had done to earn the Earl's current dissatisfaction and anger. He had made sure to be perfect in everything he did and said. Perhaps, it was because of the little quarrel of his with that Japanese man.

"Earl is something the matter? You do not seem alright." Allen finally asked, not bearing the silence any longer.

Adam inhaled deeply, lowering his head. "How can I be Allen-pon… how can I, when I realized that someone I love has betrayed me?"

Allen's eyebrows met in a frown, "What happened?"

"Do you not know?" The Earl raised his head, locking their gaze, and Allen innocently shook his head.

The Earl let out a sigh, and got up from his seat, making his way toward Allen, who remained in his place. Adam stopped at his feat, towering his nephew dangerously. Allen did not like their sudden proximity.

"Why are you lying to me Allen?" The look Adam was giving Allen was not one an uncle would give his nephew.

"I am not lying, Earl." He defended, taken aback. He swallowed his own saliva that went down his throat like acid.

Something baleful slipped by Adam's eyes, and in the blink of an eye, he was cropped down with his right hand finding Allen's throat in a solid squeeze.

Allen trembled in his seat, his hands automatically reaching to his attacked neck. He choked, " _E—arl_ …." And the assailant squeezed harder.

Adam's jaw tightened at the sight of Allen's broken face; he counted to ten, then slightly loosed his grip. He caressed Allen's white locks with his other hand, as he murmured in his ear, "Allen my dear nephew…" Adam said, "You know that I love you, right?"

Receiving no response, Adam squeezed again, this time with more force than before. Allen coughed, his need for air was increasing, he couldn't hold on anymore. He forced himself to nod, once, twice, thrice.

"Good." Adam nodded back and finally released him.

Allen fell upwards on his knees and coughed severely. His pale skin had turned crimson, tears and saliva slid down his face, while is hands clutched his hurt neck, in fear it would be attacked once more.

Adam ran his hand through his hair and pulled it backwards. He stood for few minutes, watching his nephew struggle for air, then finally walked to his desk to take a cross-shaped metal. When Allen saw him throw it into the burning chimney, he took a deep breath, expecting what he feared most. He stayed there, on his knees, still under the shock; there was no way out of that situation, there had never been, neither in the past nor now.

Adam hummed a melody as he turned the item in fire with a metal stick, as if he was doing a barbecue on a sunny day. When he deemed it to be ready, Adam took it out with the stick and let it rest for a moment before grabbing it with a glove. He approached Allen and said with a smile, "Take off your shirt, dear."

And Allen consented.

He suppressed a groan when the burning cross-shaped metal met his chest scars, one after the other. Allen stopped counting how many times the Earl had burned his chest with that cross-shaped metal that he liked to call _stigmata_. Allen had nine stigmata burn marks on his chest just like the others, for the exception of Road who had seven, and Mercym and Skinn who had eleven.

"You can go…" Adam said after a while.

Allen was used to the pain, but that didn't mean it wouldn't hurt anymore. He put back on his shirt and excused himself out of the study. His eyelids felt heavy on his eyes, he was tired –sleep deprivation, he insisted.

He did not understand the sudden punishment, but he knew he deserved it. It was deserved, every single bit of it. After all, it was _his_ entire fault.

It was until Allen exited the study building, and noticed Mimi standing in front of him with ice packs, that his legs finally betrayed him and he collapsed on the ground.

" _Remember Allen, the road to hell is paved with good intentions."_ His father had once told him. But what could he do about it? After all, despite being his greatest sin, staying in the manor was the only thing that kept him alive.

* * *

Lenalee was not a morning person –then perhaps a night owl? If she wasn't sure of that.

True there had been school and work that obligated her to break the habit, but that was all in the past. Nowadays, Lenalee ran her own business and no one, _no one_ had to tell her that she must be there at eight in the morning. Her brother and Kanda, on the other hand, were early and hyperactive birds. She could never understand how they managed to be so. She still remembers those long gone days of teenage hood when both men would do the impossible to get her out of bed to be on time to school. Ah, sweet, sweet days...

By the time she had woken up and lazily scrolled down through her social media accounts, it was already eleven in the morning. If it hadn't been for the lack of signal and internet, she probably would've stayed until the afternoon.

The Chinese young woman tugged out the diary she had found the previous night and opened it.

 _December 24_ _th_ _, 1964_

 _Christmas Eve, the day all the family gathers under a joyous atmosphere._

 _Christmas Eve, my favorite day of the year and also my birthday. This diary, given to me by my beloved brother, will become from today onwards my secret confidant._

 _Today, I, Katerina Eve Campbell, turned fifteen._

Lenalee closed the diary and hid it again. She would continue reading later, because now she was starving. She quickly changed into her casual outfit and slid out of the room; she went to the bathroom, that she know memorized its way, washed, then made her way toward the main hall. The grey clouds were suspended in the air, never moving, never changing, never letting the blue sky be distinguished; even the lively green of nature had turned into a dull color. Lenalee stepped into the glass made corridor and prepared to turn right, that, until a voice called out for her.

"'Morning, sleeping beauty."

"Lavi!" she said startled, "Good morning." He was tugging his head out of the drawing room situated at the end of the corridor, where he had been sitting with Mercym, Road and Kanda.

"Join us, it's too late for breakfast and there's tea and cookies served here." He pointed out, beaming.

She could feel her cheeks growing hot, but said nothing and simply nodded as she approached him. "Good morning everyone," she smiled entering the drawing room.

The room was like any drawing room, full of paintings adorning its walls and floor. However, this one had a peculiar aura about it, but Lenalee could not put a name on it. Mercym was sitting in the back of the room with a canvas in front of him and to Lenalee's greatest shock, he was actually painting Kanda.

Kanda had his usual grumpy face on, arms folded to his chest as he sat on an armchair in the middle of the room with the little Road sitting next to him. Lenalee thought of every possible scenario that would lead to Kanda accepting being painted, but none of them made sense because Kanda would _never_ accept. Under any circumstance.

She sat with Lavi, who served her tea, on a sofa away from the drawing range of Mercym. Kanda did not move, it was impressive.

"I'd like to have the recipe."

Lavi let out a small laugh, trying to be as discreet as he could. "I'd like to have it too, as I've never seen him consent to anybody but you."

"How did he do it?" she asked, amazed.

"It wasn't Mercym who convinced Kanda to pose," Lavi corrected, pointing his index to Road, "It was her."

"Come again?"

"Hush! Don't be so loud, you'll disturb the artist. Actually I have no more details, by the time I arrived here they were already like this."

"When did you wake up?"

He smiled coyly, "Half an hour ago…?"

She sweat dropped; Lavi was not a morning person either, and if Lenalee had to put a label on Lavi it would be that of a permanently exhausted pigeon.

Mercym was a fine man in his late twenties, perhaps. He had spiky black hair that merged beautifully with his tanned skin; round face, round nose, pulpous lips –Lavi wondered whom he resembled, at first he thought of Adam, but quickly realized they had nothing in common. In fact, no one seemed to have something in common; the thought vanished just like it emerged when he noticed Lenalee's focused eyes.

She was looking at Mercym, no, she was _captivated_ by the artist. His hand moved gracefully on the canvas, tainting white with somber colors; his eyes travelling from the models to the canvas, never growing tired it. He paused for a moment, tilting his head, then resumed his work to put down the brush only few minutes later.

"Finished." He said, getting up to drink some water.

Lavi found himself jumping from his seat to see the result. A breath caught in his throat.

The dark haired models were painted on a golden background, their features were cautiously drawn, every details painted carefully, nothing was left out. If Lavi could confess, the painted Kanda looked even more handsome than the real one.

"Beautiful," Lenalee said, then turned to the artist, "It is a brilliant work!"

Mercym, against all odds, smiled, "Thank you."

"It has been so long since the last time I posed for you, Mercym." Road said, stretching her limbs, "And I just remembered why."

"You're growing old."

"So are you, but on the other hand, I will forever be a cute girl." She grinned.

"Lord have mercy on us."

The girl punched playfully her uncle's arm as the three guests watched, then Mercym said to Kanda, "You can have it."

The Japanese did not respond, but simply nodded.

"A 'thank you' would not kill, you know?" Road frowned and Lavi answered before Kanda's foul mood would appear.

"He's a shy pal, don't mind him."

"Huh?" Kanda growled at Lavi and Lenalee face palmed.

' _Men…'_

"You're here."

Lenalee recognized the voice of the sixth party instantly and turned her head toward the door.

"Tyki!" she said, her voice a little high pitched than intended, and if Lavi was sure he had seen her cheeks growing red.

Tyki smiled, "Good morning everyone, lively as I can see." He entered the room, approaching its occupants. Road hugged him and kissed his cheeks with a beaming smile.

"I'm being pampered," He laughed.

"As long as you don't behave like Sheryl, I'm fine with it." Mercym commented and his brother grimaced.

"Don't put me in the same box as him." And added when his eyes fell on the painting, "Nice job, brother. Didn't expect anything less from you."

His sibling nodded, acknowledging his words; silence somehow found its way toward the room as everyone stood, uncertain of what to do next. Mercym was the first to move; he grabbed his paintbrushes and palette to wash them in the sink. Lavi scratched his head and glanced at Lenalee, who stood beside him, seeming about to say something, but Tyki beat him to it.

"How about a game of poker?" Tyki suggested.

"Pardon?" Lenalee inquired, not sure if she heard right.

"Brilliant!" Road clasped her hands, "Let's play, let's play!"

The trio exchanged looks, Lavi shrugged, and Lenalee decided to go with it, "Alright."

"Then, to my room!" The little girl cheered, already walking out of the room with Tyki behind her.

Mercym, who was still by the sink, voiced, "You'll have to excuse me."

"It's not like I expected you to tag along." Tyki retorted, and they were out of the drawing room.

Road's room was not that far; all they had to do was take the stairs of the main hall to the third floor where her room was situated. However, it was one hell of a room, if Kanda dared saying.

It was a purple room garnished with black furniture and an unlimited number of dolls, scattered everywhere. On the bed, on the floor, stuck to the closet and even the wall; heck even the night-light was doll shaped. However what stood out most was the four pink dolls that rested around a low table on the side of the room right under the window.

Kanda did not like that room.

"Open the curtains, Road. The room is too dark." Wisely said, frowning.

On their way to the room, they had encountered the girl's older brother, who happily tagged along.

"Do it yourself," Road answered, then turned to Tyki, "You've got the cards?"

"Always," he smirked. "I'm glad Allen isn't playing with us."

"Because you'd end up naked, like usual." Wisely smiled, letting information slip through his tongue on purpose.

"Is he that good of a player?" Lenalee asked.

"Of a cheater you mean." Tyki retorted, and Road criticized as she collected her dolls to put them away.

"He's just a sore loser, Allen never cheats."

Wisely took a doll and threw it on the bed, to sit on it place, after opening the curtains of the window that rested above his head, "You're just blinded by love, Road."

"And you're just a jealous boy!" she stuck her tongue out at her brother, who shrugged her off.

"Alright then," Tyki clasped twice to gain everyone's attention when they all sat around the low round table, "Shall we begin?"

"Let's go with classic," Road told Tyki, then to the trio, "Good for you that Lulu isn't here, or else she would've played for the money. We don't usually do it, we go for penalties, it's funnier that way."

"Got it." Lavi said, and Tyki started to distribute the cards.

Lenalee had wanted to inquire about the two kids who were to play with them, but opted against it; sometimes, it was better for her to not speak, as her words seemed to fuel a lot of quarrels these last days.

"Are you serious?" Wisely said, throwing his cards on the table. He had lost.

The first game ended in only fifteen minutes with the loss of a whining Wisely. It had been a long time since Lenalee played poker; she was more into monopoly and such.

"That sure is unusual." Tyki, who was the winner of the first game, smirked. "Means you're up for a penalty."

"You'd better choose a good one Tyki." Road laughed.

It took him few moments of thinking, then a bright idea popped in his head. Tyki leant of Wisely and whispered something none of the other player could grasp.

"Knowing you, I was expecting something worse." Wisely said once Tyki retreated to his place, "But this one's good."

"What is it? What is it?" Road shook her brother's shoulder whining, "Tell me!"

Tyki smiled, his index on his lips, "It's a secret. Let's move on with the second game."

"Not fair!"

Tyki collected the cards and handed them to Lenalee, "Would you give us the honor?"

The Chinese young woman blushed faintly, something that did not go unnoticed by Lavi. "Alright." She said.

The second game began and Lavi, who sucked at every game of poker, decided that he was just lucky today. Since the first game, good cards fell in his hands, and prompted him to not lose. The game went on as Road was humming a pleasant song; Lenalee seemed to be in a pinch, and Lavi hoped that she wouldn't lose. He did not fancy having her to do a penalty, but then again, he remembered his winning cards.

He realized that was the one to give her a penalty…the thought of it wasn't that bad.

"What!" Tyki said incredulous, "Allen's the only person I've ever lost to!"

"Lady luck isn't in your favor today." Road snickered.

"My win!" Lavi beamed. It was something to be marked in history, it was the first time Lavi ever won a poker game.

"What a time to be alive." Lenalee said, leaning on Lavi, who blushed, to have a better look at his cards, "Lavi won a poker game, I still can't believe it!"

"Lucky cards, that's all there is." Kanda remarked and Lavi retorted, "Accept my victory, Yu."

"Now the penalty!" Lenalee said, a little too excited

Ah, right, the penalty. Lavi had not given it much thought; in fact he had expected Lenalee to lose and thought of penalties for her _only_ and no one else, and now, he did not really know what to give Tyki.

Seeing the redhead in a state of hesitation, Road smiled, "How about we upgrade the game a little?"

"Upgrade?" Lenalee asks.

Tyki sighed, "Here it comes."

"The loser is given by the winner either the hot penalty or the cold penalty," Road explains furthers, "These are the common penalties we're used to play with. So go on Lavi, choose one for Tyki."

"But what are the penalties?"

"Just choose, you'll know later on." Wisely pressed for a choice.

Lavi grew more hesitant than before, as he did not know what kind of penalty those two choices were, and after a moment he said, "Let's go for the cold penalty, I guess."

Wisely clicked his tongue, not hiding his annoyance; did he perhaps hope for him to chose the hot one? Tyki did not comment on his nephew's behavior and tugged out a pocket knife.

It took Lavi few moments to realize that Tyki had cold heartedly cut the palm of his hand.

"Dear Lord!" Lenalee shouted as she quickly covered the wound with her handkerchief. "Why did you do that?"

Tyki said, unfazed, "He said cold penalty and I did the cold penalty."

"Cutting yourself? What kind of penalty is this?" Lavi asked and Road shrugged.

"Cold penalty, duh."

"Who the fuck created these penalties?" the Japanese growled.

"Me," she answered, "Obviously."

"Don't be so agitated, this is how we play poker. More fun this way." Tyki said as he took his hand away from Lenalee's grasp.

"Fun? You think this is fun?" she said outraged.

"Makes you not want to lose, nah?" Wisely stated, and Lavi confirmed that they had landed in a mad place.

"Let's just stop here." He said, but Road quickly dismissed that idea from the trio's minds with a glare.

"We never play less than three games in this family. Play one more and you can leave."

There was something about that little girl, Lavi decided, something… _sickening._ One game, he thought as he looked at his friends; they just had to not lose and everything would be fine.

"Oh, come on. There's practically no pain." Tyki responded to Lenalee's worried face.

"Why do you even have a knife?" Lavi asked as the third game started. Kanda was the one who distributed the cards and let the game begin; Lavi was sure Kanda was at the verge of an outburst.

"You never know when or for what you'll need it." He answered, "The outside world is dangerous nowadays, and killing has become as easy as saying good morning."

"As if you've killed before," Lavi laughed nervously, and waited for a _'you're a funny pal,'_ response, but instead, received an indecipherable smile. The redhead froze, trying to ignore the answers his mind was giving, that was, until Lenalee elbowed him in the stomach, notifying him that it was his turn to play.

The cards were played, and the third game came to an end with Kanda's loss. Lavi looked around him; there was no way they were going to ask Kanda to do what Tyki did…right?

Road smiled and asked Wisely, "Which one?" and the latter joined his eyebrows in a frown, trying to choose.

"Don't expect me to do what that insane man did." Pointing a finger at Tyki, who felt no offense.

"Why not?"

"Because, no matter from what angle you look at it, it's just absurd!" Lavi commented, supporting his friend.

"That's right," Lenalee added.

"A little pain wouldn't hurt." Wisely deadpanned.

"Good God, even your words are absurd." Lavi put down his cards, it was time to leave. But then Wisely added, a smile widening on his face.

"But this Kanda guy is the type that doesn't mind the pain."

"Masochist?" Road put her hand on her mouth, malice written all over her face, while Tyki leant on the wall behind him, not meddling.

"Don't speak as if you know me." Kanda shot him glares, but the white haired teen paid him no heed.

"Oh but I do."

"Drop it Kanda," Lenalee said, "Let's just leave."

"You're the cold bastard with a soft heart type of guy. This resulted from a difficult childhood, your parents abandoned you," Kanda clenched his hands and Wisely continued, seeing that his words had an effect on the Japanese, "Poverty, probably, life was a bit hard in the 90s. You care, and sometimes too much, but cannot show it properly as you are afraid that people will also end up betraying you, abandoning you, hurting you…"

"You little…" Kanda growled, on the verge of losing it.

"I mean, your own blood threw you, why wouldn't everyone else?" Wisely finished, an impassive smile adorning his lips.

Before Lavi could grasp the situation, Kanda was already on his feet, holding Wisely by his collar, while his other clenched hand flew toward the Noah's face.

"Wise!" Road and Lenalee screamed at the same time, "Kanda no!" with the latter covering her eyes with both hands.

What Lenalee had expected was the sound of a hard _'thud'_ when Wisely would hit the floor. _One, two, three, four…_ but no sound occurred, so she slowly uncovered her face, slightly trembling.

"What is it that you think you are doing," Allen said, holding firmly Kanda's punch, "Wisely."

His white haired cousin kept smiling throughout the whole ordeal, "Yo, Allen. You're back early."

"Let go of me moyashi!" Kanda gritted his teeth while trying to release his captive hand, "I am going to kill him!" but before he could do anything else, Tyki was already detaching Wisely from his grip. Kanda tried to catch him once more, but was barricaded by Allen who winced in pain.

"Are you alright Allen?" Road asked, but her question was eaten by the voices around.

"Come on! Is violence for you youngsters the only way to solve misunderstandings?" Tyki said, his half burnt cigarette hanging in between his white teeth.

"Kanda, calm down," Lavi stepped in, moving his friend away from the three men and Lenalee helped, putting her hands on his shoulders. Caging him.

"Wasn't Feedler's warning enough?" Allen said, eyebrows furrowed. "And Road, why haven't you done anything? You're supposed to be the sound of reason here!"

"I never thought it would go this far." She innocently shrugged.

An almost inexistent laugh escaped from Wisely's lips, "Oh, I didn't know Feedler was up to threatening children, how mean."

"I'm sorry, but that was a little bit over the bridge." Lenalee declared, still holding her friend.

"I apologize for his foolishness," Allen said, "But he meant no harm, Wisely just…talks without thinking."

"Well maybe it's time you buy him a brain, you've got plenty of money for that, don't you?" Kanda spat, exiting the room with Lenalee on his tail.

"A heart would also be appreciated." Lavi added in a low monotonous voice before setting off to catch up with his friends.

With the trio gone, Road finally got up from her spot to check up on her brother. The ajar door let slip through an icy wind that scattered the poker cards on the floor. Allen held his forehead, breathed once, twice, and then ended up screaming at his cousins for their misconduct. Wisely was a contemptible person, Tyki an imbecile and Road a cold-hearted witch, according to Allen. The three stood speechless at Allen's unusual outburst and watched as he left the room, slamming the door behind him.

"That was…something." Tyki finally said. He bent and grabbed the card that lied next to his feet, put it in his pocket, and left.

"What's wrong with them?" Wisely sighed, letting himself fall on the bed, "No one can take a joke anymore."

"That was no joke." Road said, "You seemed to be pretty knowledgeable about them, Wisely."

"You know me, reading people is my forte." He shrugged.

"Was it all it was?"

"Care to elaborate?"

She narrowed her eyes, trying to intimidate him, "You don't have to play games with me, you understood everything, haven't you?"

"So did Tyki, and the others." He lifted his chin.

The girl held his gaze for few moments then let out a sigh and sat next to him, "I just…want to protect everyone. I want this week to pass without unwanted incidents, you know?"

"Don't worry, nothing will happen." Wisely smiled. In spite of everything, Road was the only person in the mansion that still cared about everyone's safety. He gently caressed her head.

"That's my little brother for you." Road smiled, throwing a fist in the air.

"Hush," He said, "I'm supposed to play the role of the older brother. Don't blow our cover."

Unknowingly to Wisely, something cracked within Road, "Cover… _huh_ …"

* * *

"You're still here."

Mercym turned to face his unusual interlocutor, but did not answer and simply went back to painting. Talking was never a habit of theirs; if anything, this sibling of his ever hardly spoke. Perhaps, Allen was the only good company this sibling had.

"You even skipped lunch."

It was only after few more minutes of silence that he finally answered, "So did you, I'm sure, Mightra."

It was the hooded sibling's turn to be quiet. Mightra indeed did not attend lunch; according to Mimi, the only ones present at the table were Adam, Feedler, the twins and the three guests, who were unusually silent and irritated, as noted by Feedler. Mightra was not in the mood for a happy lunch reunion, and apparently most of the siblings felt the same, especially their cousin, Allen.

"I have a favor to ask of you." Mightra said, approaching the artist. It was about two in the afternoon, no one else was around; each sibling was somewhere in the mansion, probably trying to make good memories, hoping for a better tomorrow. _Hope_ , something Mightra had long given up on. _Dreams_ , things that Mightra has never known; for a child that was the incorporation of a nightmare, dreams were something too bright for Mightra's existence.

Mightra often wondered how the siblings still had faith in life when their souls were imprisoned by the mansion. _Freedom, happiness_ …such things were impossible for them, unattainable, but they still–

Mightra was interrupted by the meowing of a cat; the two siblings turned their heads and were faced by a black cat.

"Lero!" Mercym smiled and went to pet the cat, "It's good to have you back, the house without the three of you was lifeless."

Mightra joined in patting the cat, who was purring under their touch. An unconscious smile fell on Mightra's face.

Right, Mightra now remembered. It was because of silly things like these that the mansion's residents kept believing and hoping for something better.

"He, who falls into the sea, hugs the serpent." Mightra said. Their current situation was their own fault to begin with; thus, changing it was up to them. No one could save them but themselves.

Mercym noticed Mightra's clenched fists and resumed their previous talk, "How can I be of help?" He never intended to turn down Mightra. After all, _that_ Mightra had come as far as to ask help from him.

"I want you to look out for Allen," Mightra confessed, "I worry about him."

Mercym knew where this was coming from and couldn't agree more to what Mightra was thinking. "I just hope Road won't do anything. After all," Mercym said, his eyes lost into the cat's, "Careless efforts do nothing but harm."

* * *

One, two, three…one, two, three…one, two, three…

" _Whenever it's hard to breathe, just remember the happy times and you'll feel better."_

Allen tried, he tried desperately to think of the happy days when all the family would gather under the enormous try of Christmas his father and uncle would personally bring from the forest near the mansion. He thought of the warmth of the chimney and the gloves Road had gifted him with, how Tryde and Lulubell were actually enjoying Tyki's antics, how Mercym and Mightra were praising Feedler's tea, how Sheryl was losing a chess game against a very young Wisely while Skinn and the twins were eating candy. Allen remembered the falling snow that covered the soil and forced them to spend their days curled in blankets enjoying the hot tea and warm laughs.

Allen frantically tried to think of happy moments, he did…he did… he tried…one, two, three… breathing was getting harder with each passing moment. The scars of his chest ignited mortification; he rested his elbows on his knees as his trembling hands held that weary head. The boy was sitting on the floor, his back met with the cold upholstered wall. He could not think anymore, all his eyes could see were the red colors of his blood, of his scars, of that fire, of that day, of his death…if only, if only he had not listened to him, then maybe…

Maybe…

' _He could've lived…'_

" _Allen," he said, a smile forming, "It's all your fault, you realize that, right?"_

Allen's lifeless gaze fell on the nightstand at his left and he automatically stretched his arm to reach the drawer. Once open, he took possession of a small white bottle with no notice. The white haired male held it for few minutes in his left gloved hand; the sobs he had desperately tried to hold, finally dropped on his cursed hand. Why did it have to turn out like this?

" **WHY?"**

His eyes become somber as he open the bottle with difficulty and empties it on its right hand.

One, two, three…one, two, three… he couldn't count the capsules in his dim room, but there were about twenty, he guessed from weight.

Suddenly, Allen heard hurried steps approaching him, and a bark soon followed by a bite. Allen cried in pain as he raised his hand to get it out of the dog's mouth, but in vain; he went on his knees to fight the animal, only to see him releasing him and lying on his stomach, eyes fixed on the floor.

"Tim…canpy…" Allen said after his mind was awakened. He looked around him and the mess he had made to realize what he had tried to do and how his companion had come to his rescue. "Oh, Tim…"

The boy hugs his friend, tears flowing down his cheeks. Tears of happiness, gratitude, sadness, guilt, or remorse? Probably everything packed together. He caressed the golden fur of the animal who rubbed his face against the boy's.

It took him a long while to calm down, breathe ordinarily, and be freed of those consuming thoughts and despicable memories. His scars still hurt, but he was now able to endure them, physically and emotionally.

The dog whined and Allen smiled, "I'm sorry buddy, I was…" the eighteen years old golden retriever barked and proceeded to lick his master's face who started laughing until falling to the ground.

Three small knocks on the door made the two friends stop and Allen called, "Yes?"

The door that was left ajar by the dog was opened to reveal Tyki behind it. "Hello Allen."

The white haired young man did not respond, but rather averted his eyes away from his cousin. The room was engulfed in an unpleasant darkness; the curtains were closed. No servant had come to clean the room after Allen's sudden outburst five years ago when he prohibited everyone to enter it. Even Road, who enjoyed to tease Allen, had abided it. Of course, the rule did not apply to Tyki, because Tyki did whatever he wanted.

Tyki walked in toward Allen, but stopped in his tracks when something cracked under his feet and Allen froze. "Hm?" the ebony haired male bent over and grabbed a capsule.

Even in that suffocating gloom, Allen could notice his cousin's furrowed brows.

"What's this Allen?"

No response.

Allen got up from the floor and buttoned his shirt after Tim had messed it up. That talk was pointless, especially because it was with Tyki.

Anger rose within Tyki and he smacked his cousin against the wall.

Allen whined and held his chest in fright as Tyki held the capsule in front of him, "What's the meaning of his, Allen? Why are there so many scattered on the floor? What did you do?"

"Nothing!" he screamed, fed up with all of it, "Bloody hell! I did nothing! Yet all of you just come, accuse me and leave me shattered for all you care!"

Tyki watched in shock his cousin screaming at him, clutching his shirt, and it clicked. He threw the capsule on the floor and proceeded in taking off Allen's shirt, who tried to stop him.

"What are you doing, bastard! Stop it!"

And Tyki did so, but only when the shirt was forced on the floor. He stood speechless in front of the burn marks on his cousin's chest. His fingers lingered on them and Allen had to bite his lower lip to hold a grown.

This was not the first time it happened to Allen, but each time Tyki had to see it, tears and feelings would torn his heart. He raised his eyes to finally meet Allen's hesitant grey ones, then the latter suddenly found himself in an affectionate embrace. Unspoken words and emotions were reaching him through skin contact. Tyki's hands were big, warm and gave off a feeling of security; it was electrifying, and Allen soon found himself hugging him back as tightly as he could.

Tyki buried his face in the crook of Allen's neck, his breathing tickling the younger boy. "Allen," he said in a little voice.

Allen wanted to laugh, it was not every day that Tyki spoke with such voice, but he refrained and used a hand to caress the smoker's nape, who took it as a sign of approval.

He tilted his face and captures Allen's lips, _'soft,'_ he thought. His hands travelled to his waist and brought him closer. _'More,'_ the little voice in him said, and he complied. Tyki's tongue adventured in Allen's mouth, it tasted like tobacco mixed with salty tears. It was gentle, calming, _loving…_ everything Allen wanted it to be.

Like the good boy he was, Tim left the room, pushing the door closed behind him.

' _More,'_ it said again.

Tyki brought a hand to Allen's face and tilted it a little so that he could have access to the neck. The older Noah kissed that snow white skin, once, twice, thrice, and then sucked it, leaving behind a little mark; he moved upwards, letting out a small sigh in Allen's ear, which made him shiver in that tight embrace. Tyki took possession of his earlobe and sucked it, slowly, gently as if he was afraid that a wrong move could break the boy. Allen moaned, hands holding into Tyki tightly.

Ah, how much he wanted him…

' _More,'_ it demanded again, but this time Tyki's eyes flew open and he slowly detached himself from Allen who looked at him incredulously. Their eyes lingered into each others' for moments that seemed infinite…infinite, where only the two of them existed.

' _If only…'_

Tyki moved away, and Allen could already feel the emptiness he left within his comfort zone, his body, his heart, and life. Tyki reached for a shirt in the boy's closet and put it on Allen's shoulders, "You should wear something, we don't want you to catch a cold, now, do we?" he smiled.

"How can you be like this?" Allen asked, his eyes drowning in that golden color.

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."

Tyki tugged a hand in his pocket and took out a poker card that he handed Allen before leaving.

' _We're all liars, aren't we?'_ Allen thought, as he looked at the Joker card in his hands.

* * *

For some reason or another, dinner that day had seemed kind of _odd_ , in Lenalee's point of view that is.

Lasagna was served as main dish, and the young lady was already in the fourth bite while Tyki was still speaking of how Tryde had won their horse race the same afternoon. Lenalee, who had preferred keeping Kanda company in the drawing room as they watched Mercym paint and spoke with Feedler about his tea, missed said race that Lavi had beamed about when they reunited for dinner.

Kanda was still mad at that white haired young man named Wisely; she couldn't blame him after all, he had the right to. She, as one, did not like the way he had spoken of her bestfriend. A boy like him who grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth could never understand what Kanda had been through. However, for Lenalee, that wasn't what bugged her.

No.

That game they had played late in the morning was, in every possible way, disturbing. The worst part was that it was suggested by a mere child. How could hurting yourself be entertaining in any way?

Lenalee had known that coming here would provoke some unwanted events, but not like this, not to that extent.

She glanced at the redhead sitting next to her; Lavi was smiling, listening to Mercym talking, as he tugged a fork of lasagna in his mouth. It was a strange thing to see him smiling like that with people. After his grandfather's death, Lavi had taken refuge from society in his room, and it was a phase Lenalee did not like to remember. That reaction was to be expected, though. How could she face an empty house if her brother ever died? She wouldn't be able to, Lenalee believed. She could never imagine having dinner around an empty table. The void he would leave will be too great for her to handle.

The table she was sitting at was, however, very accepting to the fact that one of its occupant was missing. At the beginning of dinner, the Earl had said that his son, Skinn, would be absent for dinner as he was feeling ill.

No one asked questions or seemed concerned about him, and that stuck to Lenalee.

When she went back to listening what was said, Lavi was saying, _'But you are quite old.'_ And she heard the Earl respond, _'Oh dear, no. I am only forty-four,'_ or something of the sort, and she realized something.

"Sorry for interrupting," she said, earning everyone's attention, that made her quite uneasy for some reason, "But how old did you get married to have all these children?"

For the oldest, she presumed, was Mercym who looked in his thirties, and not to speak of Sheryl who already had two children.

She didn't know why, but somehow, every statement Lenalee made at dinner caused an abrupt silence. And it was something she didn't like. Prying in people's business had never felt _this_ prohibited. Kanda and Lavi looked at her with round eyes, as if she had found the cure to cancer.

Adam put down the cutlery, cleared his throat and said whilst everyone in the table turned white, "I never married."

A small light bulb shone over the trio's heads.

"My brothers and I adopted all of these children."

Lenalee's face turned red as she understood the weight of her question. She had not been ready for what it could unravel, as if she had ventured in a museum, touching a Da Vinci painting.

Taking into hands people's true selves had not been as merry as she thought it would.

Lenalee missed Skinn's presence, as he would've been the only person not minding what was happening whilst eating his candies. What she got were either glares or lowered eyes. They were perhaps ashamed or angry that their secret was out –if it was a secret at all. Kanda glared back at many people as he could, whereas Lavi poked her repeatedly with his elbow to wake her from her reverie.

"I–I'm sorry," She stuttered, "I didn't mean to…"

 _To what?_ Their eyes said.

To dig into what was none of her business?

To bring a pregnant silence upon them?

To make them feel uncomfortable?

There was a rule, wasn't there? Taste your words before you spit them.

"Having been betrayed by our own blood, my brothers and I came to the belief that if our progeny will not be of our blood, they will never betray us." Adam continued, paying no heed to Lenalee's plea. "Tryde was the first child we adopted; he was about eight years old. Mercym came next, then Sheryl and Tyki together, Feedler was welcomed into the family only a month after the previous two. Lulubell was our first girl, she was already twelve, Mightra and Skinn followed, and then finally came the twins. They are not blood related either, but we like to call them twins as they are inseparable."

He sipped water and added, "My little brother adopted Allen at the same time I brought the twins. Road and Wisely were adopted by a very young Sheryl right after that."

After a moment of silence, finding no other words, Lavi finally said, "I see…"

"What a delicious soup." Tyki said, breaking the ice, and dinner went on as if nothing had happened.

However, what stuck Kanda most were Road's clenched hands and jaw.

* * *

Kanda was not sure if he had ever seen the rain pouring like it was at the moment in his entire life.

It was past midnight when the Japanese young man had finished his training. Leaving his house did not mean leaving his usual activities behind him as well. Kanda had trained with his sword, Mugen, for almost two hours.

That night, several of their hosts had excused themselves after dinner and did not join them for the evening, and one of them was Allen.

Allen was the person that intrigued Kanda most in the manor. He was a man with a baby's face; he had white hair that he proclaimed to be natural, and an unpleasant attitude that Kanda disliked. On a first look, Allen would have looked like any other person, if it wasn't…if it wasn't for the scar than ran down half of his face.

A red pentagram-like scar that spoke for itself. There was no way it resulted from a fall or whatsoever, Kanda knew too well; that scar was inflicted to him. However, that unwavering smile never left his thin lips.

Smiling was the trademark of that young man, but Kanda hated it, for it was a fake smile, a lie, a deceit, a mask covering unspoken truths. The white haired young man had undoubtedly been in pain when he interrupted the twisted poker game they were playing; his face was red and covered by sweat, and that little girl was aware of it. Road was her name, he made a mental note to never be alone in her presence, for she was much more than she seemed to be.

Kanda was… _afraid._ Not of their hosts, or servants; people do not scare him. No, he was terrified of the mansion and what it held in-between its walls.

However, fright was to be fought against as Kanda had decided that very evening to venture the manor when all light would be turned off.

He attached Mugen to his waist and set off on a hazardous adventure.

The halls were somber, not a single light was on; the Japanese took a few moments to adjust his vision to the dark before walking. The floor in which their rooms were located was, in Kanda's opinion, empty of mysteries.

After all, strangers were always put away from what wasn't meant to be found.

The architecture of the manor was unique. It was impacted by the past eras, one after the other. According to Feedler, despite having been polished in some places, nothing had been changed in the manor, and it has remained exactly as its architect built it –aside from the chapel that is.

He traced the way toward the lower floors and ended up in the open corridor that gave view on the gardens. Kanda looked at the raging storm; the howling thunder was the sole sound to be heard, and in a way, it made the manor seem more lifeless than it already was.

Just when Kanda was about to resume walking, something caught his eye. He quickly hid behind one of the pillar stones of the corridor, getting half wet by the rain. There, coming from the way of the main hall and walking in Kanda's direction, was a person holding a candle in a hand, and a small bag in the other.

Through the scar that could be seen because of the candlelight, Kanda recognized that person as Allen. Just what was he doing outside in such time?

Kanda couldn't take the risk of being found out, that would raise unwanted suspicions and Lenalee would have his head for it. The pillar wasn't as thick as he wanted it to be, it didn't hide him entirely and if Allen walked to the stairs that led to their floor right now, he would see him. There was nowhere else to hide, the gardens were wide and empty of trees, and he couldn't afford moving around the pillar, his steps would make noise in the soiled ground.

Panic arose in him; he had to do something, and quickly.

However, just as he was to move, Allen stopped in his tracks. Kanda froze.

Allen looked around him, as if to make sure he wasn't followed and unlocked the door of the tower, before disappearing behind it. Kanda let out a breath he didn't realized he was holding.

He moved, slowly, but surely. He was soaked wet by the rain. Kanda walked to the door behind which Allen must be, and traced it with his fingers. It was a giant wooden door with golden D and C letters craved on it; he put his ear on the door, but no sound was heard.

Kanda did not know what was behind that door, he had noticed that there was a similar one on the floor below his room, while in his appointed floor were stone stairs. That tower was a mystery that made no sense in an architectural face. Two doors, and stone stairs; why would the doors be locked if those stairs led to what was behind the doors? Unless…

A logical voice popped out and told him to go away from that door because it was bad news, but something, _something_ was calling him. He put his hand of the doorknob and turned it open.

His mouth went dry.

What met his gaze was a simple rounded room whose walls were hidden behind books. The room was spacious and its ceiling seemed farther than the sky itself; it had no windows, just books, a desk, a leather chair and a chimney.

But there was no Allen.

Kanda entered the room, cautiously. It was dimply lit by the candle Allen had been holding; he approached the desk on which lied a book next to the candle. _Frankenstein,_ by Marry Shelley.

Kanda walked around the room, looking for something, anything, but found no logical explanation. He tugged out books from the shelves, touched the chimney in search for a hidden passage like in movies, but in vain. He knew it, something was wrong with that manor. And then, he heard murmurs, clenches his fists, tried to grasp a meaning, but it had seemed to be laughter buried under the rain. Kanda took few steps back and opened the door while still looking at the book. A strong wind whirled, blowing off the candle, leaving darkness to swallow the room. The Japanese took a leap out of the room and closed the room with more force than intended.

His heart was hammering in his ribcage; he still had his hand on the doorknob and quickly took it off upon realizing.

The storm was still making a ravage. His feet unconsciously walked the way Allen had came from, remembering why he was out if first place while trying to forget what had just happened.

Suddenly, a foreign hand grabbed his shoulder and he automatically unleashed his sword, bringing it to the neck of whoever was behind him.

"Chill man, it's me!" Lavi said, fright evident in his voice. He had his hands in the air as tears threatened to come out any second.

"You–" Kanda started but the words died in his throat. Lavi was the last person he would ever say _it_ to. He put Mugen in its leash, and the redhead let out a sigh of relief.

"Why so tense? I only touched you." Lavi said, regaining his usual composure.

"Shut it."

Lavi blinked, something was wrong with his friend. This wasn't the Kanda he knew.

The Kanda he knew never lost his composure like that.

The Kanda he knew never looked so…

"What happened to you?" Lavi asked, facing Kanda with a determined look. Kanda leaned on the wall behind him and closed his eyes.

' _What's wrong with me?'_

"Kanda?"

He met worried emerald eyes and sighed. He opened his mouth and told his friend everything. Lavi's face remained passive through the whole story, and Kanda, well Kanda had tried his best to not let his emotions show –even if Lavi could see through him.

And when he finished narrating, Lavi smirked, "I've always known you had the _LenKanLav Paranormal Investigations_ in you."

"Fuck off." He said, a small smile slipping from his lips as he realized that those dreadful feelings left him. And for a moment he was angry at himself; why could Lavi ease him up with only a sentence and he couldn't do the same for the stupid rabbit? It was at times like these that he felt like he didn't deserve his friendship.

"Come on." Lavi said, dragging him by the arm.

"Where to?"

"Finish what you started," he smiled, "You wanted to venture in the main hall and its rooms, right?"

That fucking rabbit was the best friend every person asked for.

They took the first stairs that they met and climbed to the third floor of the main building. The hall was stone made, with tapestries coloring the dull walls, and on what they judged to be the middle of the hall was the balcony they had seen when they first crossed the gated of the manor. It glass door was closed, just like any other door in the corridor.

The rain seemed to have lessened and the thunder stopped; the night rolled in a calm rainy symphony. Right before the end of the hall, was a lighted torch hanged on the wall that lighted a small left turning. The two men looked at each other and nodded. They walked noiselessly in the direction of the light and heard faint voices echoing in the corridor they took.

Kanda tensed, but soon realized that it wasn't the same voices; this time there was a feminine voice dancing with a man's.

There were two doors facing each other in that corridor and the one that had stairs next to it was ajar. Orange light slipped through the small opening and the voices became stronger as they approached it.

Gulping, they let their eyes look through the ajar door and what they saw made them nauseous. Sheryl on bed with someone, but the shocking part was who his partner was.

Sheryl was on top of Road, kissing her, touching her, pleasing her as she let out moans.

The sight was gross and for a moment neither one of the two men breathed. Their minds went blank, no logical thought popped in. Unconsciously, Kanda let out a curse loud enough for one of the persons on the bed to hear.

"Did you hear that?" Road said, pushing Sheryl's face from her chest.

"Umpf," he complained, "It's the just the rain."

Kanda and Lavi stood up, frozen, wishing for them to brush the topic off, and continue whatever…they were doing.

"I am sure it wasn't," she furrowed her eyebrows, "I heard a voice, go check."

"It wasn't–" Sheryl tried to say, but Road cut him in an icy tone.

"I said, _go check._ "

Sheryl remained silent for few second, and then they heard the bed creak.

They were frozen in spot not able to do anything, and at the verge of being found out, a cat's loud meowing echoed in the corridor. Right in front on them sat a cat whose blue eyes shone in that dark place as the thunder roared. A meow followed another to finally settle into a deep ear slitting scream that enabled them to move.

Kanda just ran behind Lavi, not even minding if it as the right way toward their rooms or not; thoughts were scattered inside of his mind, he didn't know what to think of what they saw. They passed long corridors, turned several times, and climbed endless stairs; each spot differed from the other, the eerie silence being the only common point in that dire manor.

"What the heck man!" Lavi said, out of breath, closing the door of his room behind them.

"I fucking don't know." Kanda said.

But he knew and so did Lavi; yet, neither of them dared to speak of it, and Kanda returned to his respectable room in silence.

" _Mind telling us the reason you want to go? It's not about the architecture, now, is it?" Kanda asked._

" _Secrets are meant to be uncovered. And I want to know what kind of secrets that manor holds." Lenalee said, her smile stretching a little bit wider for Kanda's liking._

Kanda was not sure anymore if he wanted to unfold those secrets Lenalee seemed to be so fond of.

That night, sleep paid the two men no visit, and the storm went on howling.

* * *

 **Broken Dollhouse**

* * *

 **A/N:**

*emerging from the ground* I'm alive!

Ahhhhhh, good to be back with a new chapter. A lot has happened here and there's a lot more to come. I hope you enjoyed reading this!

That incest was not so incest, now, was it :3? They are all adopted and no one is blood related to the other. There seems to be something creepy going on in that mansion, poor LenKanLav, they're having it hard *evil laugh* Also, don't mind the poker game scenes pls, I totally suck at it and writing was was really a challenge.

Ah! Before I forget, do you think I should change the rating to M after this chapter or is T fine?

I debated on whether to do that kissing scene between Allen and Tyki (bcs i did not intend to do it) but then my fingers just won and wrote it on their own, cheers for the poker pair fans! Many disturbing events took place in this chapter, because, hey! That family is a twisted one!

If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to review or text me, I'll make sure to answer.

Once again, thank you for reading!

See you next chapter~


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